txhvary  of  trhe  trheolo^icd  ^mimvy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Del^van  L*  Pierson 

J)T37  / 
.V&5 


ABYSSINIA 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2015 

https://archive.org/details/abyssiniathroughOOvivi_0 


ABYSSINIA^"" 


Of  P8//V 

SEP  2619! 


Through  the  I.ion-Land 

To  the  Court  of  the  Lion  of  Judah 


BY 

HERBERT   VIVIAN  M.A 

AUTHOR   OF   "TUNISIA   AND  THE   MODERN  BARBARY  PIRATES," 
"SERVIA  :    THE   POOR    MAN's    PARADISE,"  &C 


WITH  80  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  TWO  MAPS 


NEW  YORK 
LONGMANS,  GREEN  AND  CO. 
1901 


MY  LADY 

I  DEDICATE  THIS  RECORD  OF  A  JOURNEY 
WHEREOF  THE  GREATEST  HARDSHIP 
WAS  HER  ABSENCE 


" 'Tis  a  very  excellent  piece  of  work,  madam  lady; 
would  'twere  done." 


Preface 


The  Queen  of  Sheba  made  a  long  journey  to  visit 
Solomon,  wisest  of  kings.  To-day  whoso  is  wise  will 
wish  to  explore  the  land  of  her  descendant,  Menelik, 
King  of  the  Kings  of  Ethiopia,  Conquering  Lion  of 
Judah. 

Tourists  have  exhausted  the  interest  of  modern 
lands  ;  they  have  penetrated  the  fringe  of  countries, 
like  Turkey  and  Morocco,  where  the  Middle  Ages 
still  survive  ;  but  it  has  not  yet  occurred  to  them  to 
go  a  step  further  back,  and  observe  for  themselves 
how  men  lived  and  thought  forty  centuries  ago. 
We  delight  in  roaming  amid  the  ruins  of  Pompeii 
because  we  fancy  that  every  stone  has  a  hidden 
story  of  the  glorious  days  of  Rome,  that  we  are 
brought  somehow  face  to  face  with  the  old  world 
and  may  breathe  its  atmosphere,  realising  the  small 
details  of  everyday  life  as  no  book  can  ever  suggest 
them.  Yet  must  we  come  away  with  a  dull  sense 
of  incompleteness.  Though  stones  may  speak,  they 
need  interpreters  as  a  fossil  bone  needs  a  scientist 
to  reconstruct  a  mammoth.  How  differently  would 
Pompeii  convince  us  if  it  had  been  preserved  with  all 
the  ancient  buildings  unimpaired  and  the  populace 


viii 


PREFACE 


still  pursuing  their  daily  avocations.  That  is  the  way 
in  which  Ethiopia  brings  home  to  us  the  daily  life 
of  Bible  kings  and  patriarchs.  We  are  not  left  to 
grope  among  ruins,  but  we  rub  shoulders  every  hour 
with  men  and  women  whose  manners  and  thoughts, 
cares  and  pleasures  have  remained  practically  un- 
altered by  the  lapse  of  time. 

Consider  how  near  to  us  this  strange  survival  of  the 
old  world  remains.  A  luxurious  steamer  takes  us  in 
a  few  days  to  the  busy  port  of  Aden,  home  of  hospi- 
tality ;  we  cross  quickly  into  Africa,  we  hire  camels 
for  our  baggage,  we  bestride  our  mules,  and  in  a 
few^  hours  we  are  w^andering  among  pastoral  tribes 
and  approaching  the  lair  of  lion  or  hippopotamus. 

The  religion  of  Abyssinia  is  probably  the  most 
ancient  form  of  Christianity  extant,  and  I  am  willing 
to  wager  that  a  description  of  her  ceremonies  may 
appeal  even  to  the  most  humdrum  Protestant  amongst 
us.  He  may  scoff  at  the  dances  of  priests,  w^ho  wave 
their  long  wands  in  dreamy  cadence,  or  at  the  strange 
stuffed  birds  which  hang  suspended  from  the  roofs 
of  churches,  but  he  cannot  refuse  a  tribute  to  the 
antiquity  of  a  ritual  which  reflects  the  days  of  King 
David  and  the  Prophets. 

Apart  from  their  history  and  origin,  the  Abyssinians 
afford  a  fascinating  study  as  the  only  African  people 
who  may  one  day  defy  and  even  rival  European 
civilisation.  Nobody  knows  and  everybody  wants  to 
know  what  the  attitude  of  Abyssinia  is  likely  to  be 
towards  ourselves  and  our  rivals.  I  hope  to  be  able 
to  throw  some  light  upon  this  point,  for  I  have  talked 


PREFACE 


ix 


with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people  in  Abyssinia, 
from  the  Emperor  Menelik  II.,  who  gave  me  an 
audience  of  forty  minutes,  down  to  members  of  what 
might  be  called  the  Young  Abyssinia  Party,  who 
wish  to  introduce  all  the  barbarism  of  civilisation  into 
a  land  which  has  remained  unspoiled  since  the  days 
of  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  mother  of  Menelik  I. 

Yet,  let  the  critical  make  no  mistake.  I  do  not 
claim  to  have  written  an  exhaustive  monograph  of 
Abyssinia,  as  I  once  did  of  Servia.  I  offer  mere 
impressions.  I  shall  be  satisfied  if  I  succeed  in 
conveying  those  impressions  to  the  public. 

At  the  same  time  I  venture  to  anticipate  a  certain 
interest  for  the  narrative  of  an  expedition  by  caravan, 
undertaken  by  one  whose  adventures  had  hitherto 
been  bounded  by  cities  and  railways.  Any  one  who 
goes  at  all  far  afield  usually  tries  to  make  out  that  his 
difficulties  have  been  enormous.  This  is  partly  due, 
no  doubt,  to  the  desire  to  be  considered  bold  and 
brave — a  form  of  vanity  from  which  even  the  most 
timid  are  rarely  free.  It  may  also  be  ascribed  to 
a  fear  lest  the  exploit  should  become  hackneyed  and 
the  credit  of  exploring  be  diminished  thereby.  After 
readinor  all  sorts  of  books  on  African  travel,  I  imao-ined 
that  all  sorts  of  hardships,  miseries,  and  dangers  would 
confront  me.  It  was  therefore  a  pleasant  surprise 
to  find  no  poisonous  snakes  in  my  bed,  no  scorpions 
in  my  boots,  no  hordes  of  wild  men  lying  in  ambush 
for  me  by  the  way,  and  no  ferocious  beasts  prowling 
into  my  tent  during  the  small  hours.  Indeed,  beyond 
such  minor  discomforts  as  rain  and  flies,  from  which 


X 


PREFACE 


after  all  we  are  not  quite  free  in  this  country,  I  had 
small  cause  for  complaint. 

Nay,  further,  I  can  safely  recommend  this  kind  of 
journey  as  the  best  tonic  imaginable.  I  soon  found 
I  could  do  all  sorts  of  things  which  I  should  never 
have  dreamed  to  be  possible  at  home,  such  as  riding 
all  night  or  snatching  an  hour's  sleep  by  the  roadside 
with  a  tuft  of  grass  for  my  pillow  in  a  flood  of  rain. 
By  proving  how  easy  the  thing  is,  I  shall  be  affording 
a  number  of  people  a  very  welcome  opportunity  of 
doing  something  new  and  strange,  which  they  never 
thought  of  doing  before.  I  claim  to  show  that  any- 
body who  possesses  average  health  and  strength — 
a  lady  almost  as  easily  as  a  man — can  go  through 
the  big  game  country  and  visit  strange  African  peoples 
without  much  greater  danger  or  discomfort  than  w^ould 
be  involved  in  cycling  from  London  to  Brighton. 

This  is  good  news,  for  which  I  venture  to  anticipate 
a  small  cruerdon  of  trratitude. 

o  o 

H.  V. 

January  15,  1900. 

[My  cordial  thanks  are  due  to  Colonel  Frith, 
Captain  Harrington,  Mr.  Harold,  Colonel  Sadler,  and 
Mr.  Gerolimato  for  all  the  kindness  they  showered 
upon  me  at  Aden,  Addis  Ababa,  Zaila,  Berbera  and 
Harrar  respectively  ;  to  Captain  Harrington  and 
Captain  Powell-Cotton  for  the  loan  of  their  beautiful 
photographs  ;  also  to  Mr.  Pearson  for  entrusting  me, 
on  behalf  of  his  newspaper,  with  a  mission  to 
Ethiopia.] 


Contents 


PREFACE   

Historical  Introduction 

Origin — ^Foundation  of  Aksum — Conversion  to  Christianity — A  Hebrew 
Dynasty — Prester  John — Portuguese  Jesuits — Theodore — Tlie  Napier 
Expedition — Italian  Aspirations  —  Menelik  —  The  Empress  Taitu — 
Italian  Intervention — The  Treaty  of  Uchali — Victorious  Abyssinia  . 

Chapter  I 

THE  GARDEN  OF  ADEN 

A   Bad   Name — Street  Scenes  —  Hospitality  —  The   Tanks — Water— Salt 
Works — Climate  .......... 

Chapter  II 

WAYS  AND  MEANS 

Ignorance  about  Abyssinia — Formalities  at  Aden — A  Programme  for 
Travellers — The  Secret  of  P^quipment — The  Folly  of  Filters — The 
Key  to  an  Abyssinian  Heart — Physic  and  other  Fetishes — Snakes  and 
Snake  Stories — Recruiting  a  Retinue — A  Phantom  Chambermaid — 
"Chits"  and  Cheats — An  Ideal  Butler — The  Pilgrim — h  cordoji  noir 
— "Tomboys"  ........... 

Chapter  III 

BRITISH  SOMALILAND 

A  Leap  in  the  Dark — From  Asia  to  Africa — Berbera — Bulbar — Zaila — A 
Colonial  Triumph — Somali  Constabulary — Administration — Security — 
A  British  Proconsul  at  Work — The  Irish  of  Africa— Murder  as  a  Sport 

xi 


CONTEXTS 


Chapter  IV 
THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 

PAGE 

Loading  Camels — Engaging  a  Caravan — The  Plunge — Passive  Resistance 
— Somali  Humour — A  Grand  Palaver — The  Pilgrim's  Progress— The 
Freedom  of  the  Desert — The  Monotony  of  the  March — The  Desert 
Described — Gildessa — A  Barbaric  Dance — A  Pagan  Love-rite      .       .  64 

Chapter  V 

ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 

Approaching  Harrar — An  Ancient  and  Mysterious  Town — Rocky  Streets — 
The  Harrari — The  Lion  Hotel — Wild  Scavengers — Bazaars — A  Paradise 
for  Small  Incomes — A  Health  Resort — Farming — Openings  for  Labour 
— Mining — Imperial  Attentions — Delays  at  Harrar — Lake  Aramaya — 
Forests — A  Telephone  Station — Hawash  River — An  Alarm  in  the 
Desert — Shoa  -A  Fairy  Ride — Sad  Somalis      .       .       .       .  .107 

Chapter  VI 

PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 

Sport — Fearlessness  of  Game — Jackals — Antelopes — Elephants — Monkeys 
— A  Brush  with  a  Lioness — Birds — Flies — Locusts — Creeping  Things — 
Moths  —  Without  Matches — Rain  Everlasting — Sunburn— A  Mule 
Caravan — Firing  Sore  Backs — Obstructive  Mulemen  —  A  Crisis — A 
Raid — I  must  Draw  my  Revolver        .        .        .        .        .       .  .140 

Chapter  VII 

MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 

Where  was  the  Capital  ? — The  British  Agency — Abyssinian  Architecture — 
A  Movable  Capital — Barracks— Locomotion — The  British  Minister — 
Horses  and  Dogs — An  Abyssinian  Irishman — Climate — Foreign  Lega- 
tions—Captain Ciccodicola— M.  Lagarde — Republican  State — Russian 
Officials — Market  Day — Horse-dealing — Audience  of  the  Emperor — 
The  Palace — Kissing  Hands — Presents — Sympathy  for  England — An 
Impression  of  Menelik — Appearance — Manner — Education — Character 
— Detractors — The  Emperor's  Band — Habits— The  Empress       .        .  168 

Chapter  VIII 

THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME 

The  Jewry  of  Africa — Greetings — A  Vocabulary  for  Travellers — Grovelling 
— Snobs  —  Insults  —  Free-and-Easy  Manners — Gluttony — Feudal  Re- 
tainers —  Leechcraft  —  Gifts  — Voices  —  Costume  —  Games  —  Music — 
Dancing — Chattering — Gallas — Dusky  Damsels — At  the  Wells — In  the 
Fields — Perambulators — Good    Looks — Hairdressing — Dirt — Marriage  210 


CONTEXTS 


xiii 


Chapter  IX 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION 


PAGE 


The  Succession — "  Liberalism  " — Taxation — Money — ^Justice — Prisoners — 
The  Army — Military  Prospects — Barbarities  of  Warfare — Custom- 
houses— H.  E.  a  Village  Governor — Garasmach  Banti — Black  Red 
Tape — Local  Passports — Lagahardim — A  White  Elephant — Choba — 
Detained  by  Officials — More  Worries — Greed  at  Gildessa  .  235 


The  Epiphany — Raising  an  Altar— The  Kalendar — Christmas  at  the  Capital 
■ — Christmas  Dinners — Coptic  Monks — Suspicion  of  Foreigners — A 
Monastery — Harrar  Cathedral  —  S.  Mar}-'s,  Entotto  —  Ecclesiastical 
Art — Bargaining  for  Admission — Church  Books — A  Church  Service — 
The  Dance  of  the  Priests — Rattles       .......  266 


Engaging  Mulemen — A  Dilatory  Departure — Wayside  Amenities  —  An 
Ancient  Mystery — Strange  Rivers — A  Tropical  Storm — A  Night 
March — White  Snakes — A  Night  in  an  Open  Boat — ^Jibuti — A  Second 
Delagoa  Bay — The  Question  of  Arms —  Obock  —  Perim — Somalis 
Transformed — The  Future  of  Abyssinia — Openings  for  Explorers — 
Ziquala — Northern  Abyssinia — The  Mad  Mullah         .       .        .  .291 


Chapter  X 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


Chapter  XI 


HOMEWARD  HO! 


APPENDIX  I.,  ITINERARY 
II.,  OUTFIT  . 
INDEX   


333 
334 
337 


List    of   Illustrations ' 


PAGE 

Berbera  38 

 39 

The  Custom  House  at  Berbera  .........  40 

Zaila.    The  Market  Square       .........  43 

,,       The  British  Postman     .........  49 

Loading  a  Camel      ...........  66 

Camel-mats  used  as  Tents  ..........  67 

A  Palaver  of  Camelmen    .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  81 

The  Departure  of  my  Deck-chair       ........  83 

Cooking  in  Camp      ........        Facing  page  88 

Approaching  Gildessa       ..........  89 

The  Torrent-bed  of  Gildessa     .........  90 

Women  Selling  P\iel  at  Gildessa        .       .       .       .       .       .       .  -91 

A  Street  in  Gildessa  ...........  94 

Abyssinian  Women  Servants  Pounding  Red  Pepper  95 

"  Salaam  Allah  ! "     .       .       .   98 

Candelabra  Cactus  at  Balawa     .       .       .       .       .       .        Facing  page  104 

An  Abyssinian  Guardhouse       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .108 

Approaching  Harrar  ...........  109 

Harrar     ..........        Facing  page  1 10 

A  Street  in  Harrar  in 

Women  Selling  Fuel  in  a  Street  of  Harrar  .  .  .  Facing  page  112 
Entrance  to  Ras  Makonnen's  Palace,  Harrar     .       .       .       .       .  -113 

The  Gate  with  the  Elephants' Tails  114 

Breaking  up  Sods  to  make  Walls       .....         Facing  page  121 

Fording  the  Hawash  .       .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  -131 

 132 

M  ,  133 

 134 

Skins  and  Horns  packed  up  al  Tadechamalka    ......  143 

Lesser  Koodoo  ............  144 

,>         ^,   145 

,,         ,,   146 

Ant-Hill  in  the  Jungle   147 

Where  is  the  Capital  ?   169 

Menelik's  Palace   170 


r  not  otherwise  stated,  the  photographs  were  taken  by  the  Autlior. 

XV 


XVI 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

British  Agency  Compound.       ...               .  . 

.  171 

Building  .......... 

.  172 

J  5 

• 

J  J 

•  174 

Thatching.  ......... 

•  175 

Addis  Ababa  ......... 

.           .           .  176 

•  177 

A  Ravine  in  the  Capital  ....... 

.           .           .  178 

.  179 

On  the  Way  to  Market  

.           .           .  187 

Two  Bird's-nest  Constructions  ...... 

.  188 

The  Regulation  Straw-umbrella  ..... 

.  189 

Mule  Market,  Addis  Ababa  

.  191 

Banqueting  Hall  of  Menelik's  Palace  where  2,000  Warriors  eat  Raw  Meat 

together     .  ....... 

Facing  page  195 

The  Imperial  Pavilion  ....... 

Facing  page  196 

Menelik  

.  196 

Verandah  of  Menelik's  Palace,  with  a  Group  of  Courtiers  . 

Facing  page  203 

.  208 

Galla  Huts  on  the  Way  to  Harrar  ..... 

Facing  page  227 

Captain  Harrington  entering  Harrar  ..... 

.  228 

Women  at  a  Well  ........ 

Facing  page  229 

Somali  Husband  with  Wife-whip  ..... 

•  233 

Donkeys  Laden  with  Bars  of  Salt,  the  Abyssinian  Sixpences 

Facing  page  239 

Menelik's  Dollar  

.  241 

An  Abyssinian  Prisoner  and  his  Warder  .... 

.  244 

Huts  of  Abyssinian  Soldiers  ;  the  Woman  on  the  left  is  Sewing 

Facing  page  246 

Preparing  Durgosh  ........ 

.  246 

Giklessa  :  the  Governor's  House  on  the  Hill  . 

Facing  page  251 

My  Abyssinian  Passport  ....... 

.  256 

Choba  Custom-house,  Look-out  Nest ..... 

.  261 

Raising  an  Altar  ........ 

.  268 

Christmas  at  Addis  Ababa  .        .  . 

.  270 

Menelik's  Guard  outside  Tukul  where  Priests  are  Dancing  . 

.  271 

Menelik  Keeping  Christmas  ...... 

.  272 

Old  Minaret  in  the  Courtyard  of  Harrar  Cathedral 

Facing  page  279 

Church  of  S.  Raguel,  Entotto  

\  282 

A  River  in  East  Africa  ....... 

.  296 

A  Dry  Torrent-bed  ........ 

.  297 

Facing  page  301 

Jibuti  

Facing  page  3 1 1 

Alxli  at  Jibuti  

•  313 

Historical  Introduction 


Origin— Foundation  of  Aksum— Conversion  to  Christianity — A 
Hebrew  Dynasty — Prester  John — Portuguese  Jesuits — Theo- 
dore—The Napier  Expedition — ItaHan  Aspirations — Menelik — 
The  Empress  Taitu — Italian  Intervention — The  Treaty  of 
Uchali — Victorious  Abyssinia. 

V ERV  little  is  known  about  the  history  and  origin  of 
Abyssinia,  which  has  always  been  regarded  more  or 
less  as  a  land  of  romance.  The  word  Ethiopia,  like 
L)d^a,  has  been  used  by  classical  authors  to  express 
the  whole  of  Africa  or,  still  more  vaguely,  all  countries 
inhabited  by  black  men.  Homer,  always  inclined  to 
be  descriptive  rather  than  precise,  informs  us  that 

the  populations  of  Ethiopia,  the  most  remote  in  the 
world,  live  some  towards  the  rising  and  others  towards 
the  settinor  sun."  The  first  definite  information  about 
the  country  comes  from  Aksum,  which  was  founded 
in  the  days  of  the  patriarch  Abraham  and  served  as 
residence  for  the  Queen  of  Sheba.  In  300  B.C. 
Ptolemy  took  it  and  set  up  obelisks,  which  remain 
there  to  this  day.  It  became  the  centre  of  the  ivory 
trade,  and  Pliny  tells  us  that  Roman  merchants  had 
dealings  there. 

The  origin  of  Abyssinian  Christianity,  like  that  of 
everything  else  Abyssinian,  is  delightfully  vague. 
According  to   one  theory,   a    young  Christian  was 

'  B 


2 


ABYSSINIA 


wrecked  on  the  Abyssinian  coast  in  the  year  333  and 
promptly  converted  the  country.  Another  version 
is  that  Abyssinia  was  not  really  converted  until  600, 
when  some  monks  came  over  from  Egypt. 

Abyssinia  increased  in  prosperity  and  enterprise, 
conquering  Yemen  and  being  solicited  by  Justinian 
for  an  alliance  against  the  Persians.  Then  the  tide 
of  Islam  began  to  advance,  and  the  Abyssinians  went 
back  perforce  to  their  own  side  of  the  Red  Sea.  Nay 
further,  there  were  driven  in  from  Egypt  many  Jews, 
called  Falasahs.  These  were  of  the  old  warlike  stamp, 
and  claimed  to  have  settled  in  Africa  during  the  reign 
of  King  Rehoboam.  So  strong  were  these  Jews  that 
they  contrived  to  seize  and  keep  the  government  of 
a  great  part  of  the  north  of  the  empire,  and  to  set 
up  a  line  of  Hebrew  kings,  who  remained  undisturbed 
for  nearly  eight  centuries,  until  the  line  became  extinct 
in  1800,  and  the  supremacy  of  the  Negus  of  Shoa 
was  acknowledged  once  more.  Throughout  the  Middle 
Ages  we  may  picture  Abyssinia  in  a  state  of  even  more 
constant  turmoil  than  that  which  has  continued  to  the 
present  day.  Beside  their  own  civil  wars,  they  were 
constantly  fighting  with  the  various  Muhammadan 
natives  in  the  empire. 

It  was  somewhere  in  the  fifteenth  century  that  Europe 
began  to  talk  of  the  wonders  of  Abyssinia.  Imagina- 
tive travellers  related  how  the  golden  age  had  been 
established  among  her  mountains  under  the  rule  of 
a  priest-king,  known  as  Prester  John.  There  is 
no  satisfactory  evidence  that  such  a  person  ever 
existed,  but  the  Portuguese  were  sufficiently  taken 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 


by  the  story  to  send  out  missionaries  in  search  of 
him.  A  certain  Portuguese  landed  in  1490  after  all 
sorts  of  odysseys  and  difficulties.  He  met  with  a 
good  reception,  but  found  to  his  disgust  that  there 
was  a  law  in  the  land  forbidding  any  stranger  who 
once  entered  Abyssinia  to  go  away  again.  By  the 
year  1520,  however,  this  law  must  have  been  modified, 
for  King  David  of  Ethiopia  received  another  Portu- 
guese mission,  and  sent  it  home  with  a  request  for 
help  against  the  Moslems.  Accordingly  400  Portu- 
guese soldiers  were  despatched  with  a  number  of 
Jesuits,  who  attempted  to  induce  the  Abyssinian 
Church  to  accept  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  The 
attempt  was  a  very  pertinacious  one,  but  by  the  year 

1632  its  failure  was  recognised,  and  the  Jesuits  were 
expelled  from  Abyssinia  as  they  have  been,  alas, 
from  so  many  other  countries.  In  1698  a  French 
doctor  cured  the  Emperor  of  leprosy,  but  it  was  not 
until  the  beginning  of  this  century  that  Europeans 
began  to  renew  their  interest  in  the  country.  A  craze 
had  sprung  up  for  discovering  the  sources  of  the  Nile, 
just  as  another  craze  followed  for  reaching  the  North 

Pole. 

We  are  now  approaching  the  modern  history  of 
Abyssinia.  In  1850  an  Anglo- Abyssinian  treaty  was 
signed.  In  February,  1855,  Theodore  was  crowned 
Emperor.  Two  British  envoys  were  sent  out,  but 
they  were  killed  in  civil  war,  and  in  1862  Captain 
Cameron  came  out  as  their  successor.  Theodore  was 
now  very  friendly,  and  he  despatched  a  letter  to  the 
Queen  of  England  seeking  an  alliance.    Through  the 


4 


ARVSSTXTA 


usual  official  mismanagement,  this  letter  was  used  for 
a  long  time  as  a  shuttlecock  between  the  Foreign 
Office  and  the  Government  of  India,  falling  finally 
into  some  pigeon-hole  or  waste-paper  basket  and 
remaininor  unanswered.  Theodore,  resenting  the  bad 
manners  of  leavinQ;  a  Sovereiofn's  letter  unanswered, 
cast  Captain  Cameron  into  chains  in  1863.  Still  the 
British  Government  remained  supine,  and  it  was  only 
in  August,  1864,  that  Mr.  Rassam  arrived  at  Massowa 
to  plead  for  the  release  of  our  consul.  But  Theodore 
did  not  answer  his  application  to  come  up  until 
January,  1865.  Presently  he,  too,  was  cast  into  chains. 
Still  the  British  Government  submitted  tamely.  Xo- 
thinor  was  done  for  over  two  vears.  Then  at  last 
word  came  that  Theodore  was  being  worsted  in  civil 
war,  and  in  April,  1867.  he  received  an  ultimatum 
bidding  him  release  his  prisoners  within  three  months. 
HavinQT  seen  that  the  British  wrote  much  and  did 
nothinor  durinof  all  this  time,  Theodore  lauQrhed  at 
the  threat,  reflecting  that  if  the  worst  came  to  the 
worst,  we  should  have  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  in 
bringing  up  an  army  over  the  three  hundred  miles 
of  rough  ground  which  separated  Magdala,  his  capital, 
from  the  coast. 

However,  12,000  men  were  landed,  and  in  January, 
1868,  Sir  Robert  Napier  joined  them  as  their  general. 
His  method  seems  to  have  been  almost  as  simple  and 
successful  as  that  of  our  two  most  successful  generals 
to-day.  He  reached  Magdala  on  the  9th  of  April  with- 
out having  had  to  fire  a  shot.  Then  6,000  Abvssinians 
swooped  down  upon  1,600  British.    But  our  Snider 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 


5 


rifles  gave  us  the  advantage,  and  our  losses  were  only 
30  wounded,  while  theirs  were  800  dead  and  15 
wounded.  Then  Theodore  pleaded  for  peace,  and 
liberated  his  captives.  Sir  Robert  Napier  insisted 
upon  an  unconditional  surrender,  and  as  the  first 
British  soldier  entered  Magdala  Theodore  shot  him- 
self in  the  mouth.  The  brilliant  little  war  was 
over. 

Theodore  was  succeeded  by  the  Prince  of  Tigre, 
who  was  crowned  in  1872  as  "  King  of  Kings  and 
Conquering  Lion  of  Judah,"  under  the  title  of  John  It. 
On  his  death  in  1889,  Menelik,  King  of  Shoa,  suc- 
ceeded with  no  great  difficulty. 

Before  I  proceed  to  give  his  biography,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  sketch  the  origin  of  the  Abyssinian  war 
with  Italy,  for  which  his  name  will  ever  be  held  in 
remembrance.  As  early  as  1850  the  little  kingdom 
of  Sardinia  was  already  beginning  to  make  plans 
for  the  time  when  it  should  have  absorbed  all  the 
other  States  in  the  Peninsula  and  put  itself  at 
the  head  of  a  new  Italian  kingdom.  I  have  before 
me  a  correspondence  between  the  Piedmontese  F^oreign 
Office  and  an  old  missionary,  who  was  acting  as  Vicar 
Apostolic  to  the  Gallas.  The  question  raised  was 
how  to  set  about  obtaining  a  foothold  in  Abyssinia. 
All  the  information  was  carefully  noted,  and  a  few 
years  later  we  find  Cavour  going  into  details  with  a 
view  to  immediate  action.  In  1869,  after  Theodore's 
defeat  by  the  British,  the  plans  of  the  Italians  were 
ripe  for  fulfilment.  A  harbour  and  an  island  were 
bought  for  less  than  ^2,000  on  the  coast  of  the  Red 


6 


ABYSSINIA 


Sea.  Egypt  and  England  protested,  bat  Lord  Salis- 
bury was  informed  in  1879  that  nothing  political  was 
intended,  and  when  in  1881  the  Italians  beean  to  set 
up  a  definite  colonial  administration,  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  in  office,  which  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  we 
allowed  an  infraction  of  our  rights  to  pass  unnoticed. 
By  a  decree  of  the  5th  of  July,  1882,  the  Port  of 
Assab  and  its  territory  received  the  name  of  an  Italian 
colony.  In  1885,  still  with  the  assent  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, the  Italians  went  on  to  occupy  Massowa,  and 
the  storms  began  to  gather. 

Born  in  1S42,  a  scion  of  the  royal  house  of  Shoa, 
claiming  direct  descent  from  Menelik  I.,  the  son  of 
the  Queen  of  Sheba  and  King  Solomon,  the  present 
Emperor  was  a  young  man  of  five-  or  six-and-twenty 
at  the  time  of  the  expedition  against  Magdala.  It 
was  natural  that  Theodore  should  wish  to  have  this 
youth  of  royal  lineage  and  prospective  importance 
at  his  court,  but  the  despot  alternated  in  displaying 
marks  of  affection  and  suspicion.  One  day  he  thrust 
him  into  prison,  another  day  he  gave  him  his  daughter 
as  a  wife.  Indeed,  it  was  only  by  his  acceptance  of 
the  princess,  for  whom  he  never  pretended  any  regard, 
that  he  obtained  his  libertv.  Havina-  obtained  his 
liberty,  he  soon  showed  that  he  intended  to  keep  it. 
On  the  death  of  this  princess,  he  became  enamoured 
of  Taitu,  the  dauorhter  of  a  nobleman  of  Tiore,  and 
in  1887  he  married  her,  thereby  proving  how  strong 
a  position  he  held  already  in  the  Empire,  for  her  old 
enemy  John  was  still  upon  the  throne.  After  his 
death,  Menelik  was  crowned  Emperor  on  the  3rd  of 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 


November,  1889,  and  Taitu  was  crowned  Empress  of 
Ethiopia  two  days  afterwards.  Her  influence  over 
him  has  always  remained  very  strong,  and  remains  so 
even  now  that  she  has  grown  elderly  and  inordinately- 
stout. 

During  the  reign  of  John,  Ras  Alula  was  Viceroy 
of  Tigre.  He  conquered  the  Dervishes  who  threat- 
ened Abyssinia  from  the  north,  harassed  the  en- 
croaching Italians,  and  bade  fair  to  put  in  a  claim 
for  the  succession.  When  Menelik  had  succeeded 
in  grasping  the  throne,  he  was  naturally  jealous  of 
this  man.  So  he  summoned  him  to  resign,  and 
appointed  Ras  Mangasha,  the  son  of  the  Emperor 
John,  in  his  stead  as  Viceroy  of  Tigre.  Civil  war 
was  the  natural  result ;  and  that  might  be  allowed 
to  pass  unnoticed,  for  the  whole  history  of  Abyssinia 
has  practically  been  one  long  civil  war,  but  this  time 
the  strife  proved  to  be  of  unusual  importance.  The 
Italians  seized  the  opportunity  to  interfere,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  back  up  Mangasha.  This  was  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  Ethiopia  that  an  European 
power  had  interfered  with  the  Abyssinians'  privilege 
of  slaying  one  another.  Any  one  with  half  an  eye 
could  see  that  this  was  the  first  step  in  the  inaugu- 
ration of  an  active  policy  of  intervention  by  Italy. 
It  would  be  wearisome  to  go  into  details  of  the 
subtle  attempt  to  turn  an  Italian  colony  into  an 
Italian  protectorate,  with  the  undoubted  intention  of 
eventual  annexation.  It  was  chiefly  through  the  sup- 
port of  Italy  that  Menelik  was  enabled  to  secure 
his  succession  to  the  throne,  and  in  return  for  this 


8 


ABYSSINIA 


he  consented  to  sign  the  famous  Treaty  of  Uchali 
in  May,  1889. 

This  treaty  was  apparently  a  mere  agreement  as 
-to  the  frontier  of  the  Italian  coast  colony,  the  per- 
mission for  Abyssinians  to  supply  themselves  with 
arms,  and  various  details  of  the  future  relationship 
of  the  two  Governments.  There  was,  however,  a 
certain  innocent-looking  Article  XVTL,  which  even- 
tually became  a  bone  of  contention,  and,  as  the  Italians 
had  probably  foreseen,  brought  about  the  recent  war. 
The  treaty  was  drawn  up  in  Italian  and  Amharic. 
Article  XVII.  ran  as  follows  in  the  Amharic: 
"His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Kings  of  Ethiopia 
may  make  use  of  the  Government  of  His  Majesty 
the  King  of  Italy  in  all  matters  whereon  he  may 
have  to  treat  with  other  Powers  or  Governments." 

In  the  Italian  text  the  word  "  may  "  was  replaced 
by  the  words  "agrees  to" — a  very  different  thing, 
implying,  in  fact,  the  acceptance  of  a  suzerainty. 
When  Menelik  discovered  this  trick,  he  lost  no  time 
in  protesting.  Count  Antonelli  was  sent  as  a  special 
envoy  to  discuss  the  matter,  and  the  Emperor  invited 
him  to  dinner  for  the  purpose.  All  of  a  sudden  the 
Empress  Taitu  broke  in  upon  the  discussion,  and 
informed  the  Count  with  some  vehemence  that 
Abyssinia  would  never  agree  to  the  Italian  inter- 
pretation. "W^e  too,"  she  exclaimed,  ''have  our  own 
dignity  to  safeguard  ;  in  communicating  the  Article 
to  the  Powers,  you  have  implied  that  we  are  under 
your  dependence,  but  that  is  not  so.  Ethiopia  will 
never  accept  any    protectorate."     Count  Antonelli 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 


'9 


protested  against  this  idea,  and  invited  Her  Majesty 
to  make  a  proposal  herself.  She  took  up  a  piece 
of  paper  and  wrote  out  the  text  of  a  new  treaty. 
It  ran  as  follows:  ''Article  I.— Article  XVII.  of 
the  Treaty  of  Uchali  is  abrogated.  Article  II. — 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Ethiopia  engages  him- 
self to  the  Government  of  His  Majesty  the  King  of 
Italy  never  to  cede  his  territory  to  any  European 
Power,  nor  to  conclude  any  treaty,  nor  to  accept 
any  protectorate."  This  broke  off  the  negotiations, 
the  Count  went  home,  and  Italy  resolved  on  war. 

The  result  of  that  war  is  too  w^ell  known  to  need 
relation  in  detail.  Italy  was  hopelessly  defeated  and 
has  now^  renounced  every  pretension  to  a  protectorate. 
Indeed  she  is  quite  grateful  to  be  allowed  to  retain  her 
poor  little  strip  of  territory  on  the  coast.  Menelik, 
now  secure  in  the  independence  of  his  country,  has 
set  to  work  to  consolidate  his  rule  and  put  down 
every  disturbance  with  an  iron  hand.  In  1899  his 
lieutenant,  Ras  Makonnen,  marched  into  Tigre  and 
finally  defeated  Ras  Mangasha,  the  last  of  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  present  empire.  And  every  friend  of 
Ethiopia  must  hope  that  His  Majesty  may  long  be 
spared  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  courage  and  wisdom, 
and  witness  an  era  of  greater  prosperity  than  any  which 
has  gone  before. 


Chapter  I 


THE  GARDEN  OF  ADEN 

A  Bad  Name— Street  Scenes— Hospitality— The  Tanks — Water — 
Salt  Works — Climate. 

There  was  a  sigh  of  relief  among  the  Anglo-Indians 
on  board  the  good  ship  Caledonia  as  we  sighted  the 
volcanic  outlines  of  Aden.  They  had  broken  the 
back  of  their  journey,  and  could  afford  to  spare  a 
breath  of  pity  for  the  luckless  wight  whose  business 
detained  him,  even  for  a  few  days  or  hours,  on  that 
accursed  rock. 

There  was  no  pause  in  the  chorus  of  execration. 
"  When  the  Lord  had  used  up  all  His  materials,"  said 
one,  "He  made  Aden."  Another  quoted  the  Irish 
private's  remark  :  ''If  Aden  was  ony  thing  like  what  it 
is  now,  I  don't  wonder  our  first  parents  were  onaisy." 
A  third  brought  out  the  old  sneer  about  a  piece  of 
tissue-paper  alone  separating  Aden  from  the  infernal 
regions.  In  fact,  I  was  led  to  expect  a  sort  of  semi- 
penal  settlement,  not  unlike  Devil's  Island,  a  natural 
gridiron  with  no  water,  no  food,  no  amusements,  no 
beauty,  and  the  worst  climate  on  earth. 

From  the  moment  when  I  stepped  ashore,  I  was  in 
raptures.  Take  Crater  Camp  at  twilight  :  you  have  a 
background  of  purple  rocks,  presenting  an  extraordi- 


THE  GARDEN  OF  ADEN 


nary,  fantastic  outline,  mysterious  beyond  the  dreams 
of  romance.  Up  there,  on  the  slopes  of  Shum-Shum, 
you  may  discern  the  Towers  of  Silence,  where  the 
Parsees  expose  their  dead  to  the  vultures.  And  in 
the  foreground,  as  an  exquisite  contrast,  are  the 
brightly  whitewashed  houses  of  the  native  quarter 
glistening  against  the  shadows.  Closer  still,  you  are 
in  the  mess  of  the  West  Kent  Regiment,  sipping 
long,  cool  drinks,  and  discussing  the  latest  new^s  from 
the  Cape,  while  an  excellent  band  just  below  you 
completes  the  illusion  of  more  marvellous  stage 
scenery  than  was  ever  put  upon  the  stage.  You 
drive  back  in  the  moonlight  to  your  hotel  at  Steamer 
Point,  through  romantic  gorges  and  astounding 
tunnels,  beside  a  sea  whose  hues  of  heliotrope,  moon- 
stone, emerald,  and  lapis  lazuli  grow  ever  more  ex- 
quisite and  more  varied. 

And  the  street  scenes  !  I  could  never  tire  of  sitting 
on  my  verandah  at  the  Grand  Hotel  de  I'Univers,  and 
watching  the  fascinating  pantomime  with  the  blue  bay 
for  its  background.  There  is  a  jetty  opposite,  where 
relays  of  Somalis  follow  one  another  like  turns  at  a 
music-hall.  Twenty  or  thirty  youths  appear  there 
in  loincloths  of  sacking ;  each  bears  a  goat-skin 
which  he  dips  into  the  water.  All  then  return  to 
the  promenade  facing  the  semicircle  of  Parsee  shops, 
known  as  Prince  of  Wales's  Crescent.  They  form 
in  two  columns,  and  advance  at  a  jog-trot,  singing 
some  barbaric  song,  whisking  their  goat-skins  melo- 
diously to  right  and  left,  jerking  out  water  upon  the 
thirsty  road.     They  are  the  human  water-carts  of 


12 


ABYSSINIA 


Aden,  and  an  hour  or  two  later  there  is  a  sheen  of 
salt  crystals  as  the  sole  spoor  of  their  passage.  Next 
comes  a  long  file  of  men,  stalwart  and  robust,  with  bits 
of  sacking  for  their  only  raiment,  bearing  aloft  upon 
their  shoulders  each  a  square  petroleum  oil  tin.  They 
have  been  drawing  upon  an  enormous  barrel  of  fresh 
water,  distilled  from  the  sea,  and  are  plodding  their 
way  to  the  hotel  bath-room,  where  I  shall  presently 
plunge.  Here  is  a  cart,  the  miniature  counterpart  of 
Black  Maria,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  humped  oxen.  There 
are  coal-heavers  of  extraordinary  blackness,  ready  to 
prove  that  though  a  lily  may  not  be  painted,  a 
negro  may  yet  be  darkened.  Yonder  comes  a  party 
of  Arabian  Jews,  recognisable  not  merely  by  their 
noses,  but  also  bv  the  strano-e  little  oilv  corkscrew* 
curls  worn  just  in  front  of  their  ears.  A  man  with 
little  grey  toothpicks  stuck  through  the  end  of  his 
nose,  and  another  w*ith  a  tin  on  the  top  of  his  head, 
like  the  tile  of  an  Orthodox  pope  ;  horses  dyed  a 
liofht  o-old  colour  all  over,  and  white  horses  whose 
feet  and  necks  have  been  stained  deep  orange  ;  an 
ordinary  gari  (cab)  turned  into  a  conveyance  for  a 
harem  by  suspending  a  big  shawl  perpendicularly 
from  the  hood — there  is  no  end  to  the  shivering  of 
the  kaleidoscope.  Verily  I  know  few  places  to  rival 
Aden  for  her  colour,  as  well  as  for  her  local  colour, 
and  I  protest  against  those  scurvy  natures  which 
are  alwavs  clamourino-  for  o;reen.  Here  at  least 
they  have  not  the  excuse  of  the  Arctic. 

Perchance  I  shall  tax  the  credulity  of  geographers 
when  I  assert  that  Aden  is  in  India.     But  I  felt  that 


THE  GARDEN  OF  ADEN 


13 


I  had  reached  India  so  soon  as  I  stepped  on  to  the 
P.  and  O.  steamer  at  Marseilles.  Still  more  Indian 
is  Aden,  whose  Government  officials,  stamps,  coins, 
even  language,  are  those  of  Hindostan.  Very  Anglo- 
Indian,  too,  is  the  boundless,  absolutely  unrivalled 
hospitality  of  the  place.  I  was  scarcely  ashore  before 
I  was  invited  to  dinner,  and  made  an  honorary 
member  of  the  club.  Next  day  I  was  taken  to  a 
gymkhana — we  should  call  it  a  garden-party  if  there 
were  any  gardens  in  the  Garden  of  Aden.  This  was 
my  preface  to  whole  chapters  of  ceaseless  gaiety. 
Luncheons,  dinners,  dances,  regattas,  picnics,  paper- 
chases,  receptions  on  board  passing  men-of-war, 
military  tournaments,  and  water-parties  were  incessant. 
I  was  present  one  night  at  a  delightful  prize-fight, 
and  after  I  left  I  heard  that  there  were  actually  race- 
meetinors.  Each  eveninor  before  dinner  there  was  a 
general  rendezvous  at  the  club.  In  fact,  I  felt  that 
I  had  been  privileged  to  obtain  admittance  into  a 
large  and  almost  affectionate  family.  I  met  the  same 
people  every  day,  and  the  more  I  met  them  the  better 
I  liked  them. 

Nor  need  the  common  sightseer  despair.  His  first 
visit,  particularly  if  he  have  only  a  few  hours  while 
his  boat  takes  coal,  will  be  to  the  Tanks.  Like 
most  other  amazing  works,  they  are  attributed  to 
King  Solomon  and  his  Jinn.  An  inscription  at  the 
entrance  announces  that,  "These  tanks,  regarding 
the  original  construction  of  which  nothing  is  accu- 
rately known,  were  accidentally  discovered  by  Lieu- 
tenant (now  Sir  Lambert)   Playfair  when  Assistant 


ABYSSINIA 


Resident  at  Aden  in  1854.  They  were  then  com- 
pletely hidden  by  rubbish,  but  were  opened  out  and 
repaired  by  the  British  Government.  The  aggregate 
capacity  of  all  these  tanks  exceeds  twenty  million 
imperial  gallons."  Further  excavations  might  reveal 
further  submerged  marvels  at  Aden.  What  interested 
me  most  about  the  tanks  was  to  hear  of  one  which 
is  situated  in  an  almost  inaccessible  recess  of  the 
hills  behind.  It  is  frequented  by  great  numbers  of 
monkeys,  foxes,  and  wild  dogs,  so  fierce  that  they 
attack  intruders  unless  these  go  in  large  parties  and 
well  armed.  I  asked  an  Arab  attendant  how  all 
these  animals  found  food  up  there  on  the  barren 
rock.  He  replied  at  once,  "The  Lord  Allah  feeds 
them." 

Water  is,  of  course,  an  object  of  much  tender 
solicitude  at  Aden,  and  these  tanks,  having  been 
constructed  so  as  to  catch  every  available  drop  on 
the  rare  occasions  when  rain  falls,  are  an  enormous 
boon.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to  realise  the  sensation 
aroused  at  Aden  by  the  appearance  of  a  shower. 
A  friend  of  mine,  w^aking  up  to  find  his  adjutant 
by  his  bedside  in  a  mackintosh,  could  only  conclude 
that  he  had  just  returned  from  a  fancy  dress  ball. 

Another  siorht  at  Aden  is  that  of  the  salt  works. 
Perhaps  the  sea  is  the  most  valuable  asset  which 
Aden  possesses.  Water  is  distilled  from  it  by 
laborious  processes,  and  salt  extracted  for  the  en- 
richment of  a  company.  The  rarity  of  rain  and 
the  constancy  of  the  sun  make  Aden  an  ideal  place 
for  the  industry,  particularly  as  there  is  nearly  always 


THE  GARDEN  OF  ADEN 


15 


wind  to  assist  the  evaporation.  The  process  is  a 
simple  one  :  you  let  sea-water  into  large  shallow  pans 
or  lagoons,  and  leave  it  there  until  the  refuse  (iodine, 
magnesium,  &c.)  shall  have  sunk  to  the  bottom. 
Then  you  open  a  sluice  and  turn  it  into  another 
pan.  Day  after  day  you  observe  it  growing  more 
and  more  viscous,  like  a  pond  trying  to  freeze,  until 
at  last  you  can  heap  it  into  dazzling  little  conical 
piles.  These  ice  crystals  must  be  taken  to  mills 
and  ground  into  a  snow,  which  turns  out  to  be 
excellent  salt.  I  do  not  know  of  any  industry  at 
once  so  simple,  so  lucrative,  and  so  fascinating. 
Each  pan's  output  is  made  into  a  glistening  mound, 
like  a  snow  haystack,  which  may  be  espied  for 
miles  across  the  bay.  The  annual  produce  amounts 
to  no  less  than  sixty  thousand  tons. 

The  prime  charge  against  Aden  is  the  climate, 
and  no  doubt  the  heat  is  disturbinof  in  Augrust.  I 
am  told  that  sleep  is  then  almost  impossible,  and 
that  you  lie  all  night  on  your  roof  gasping  for  air. 
But  in  the  winter  there  is  no  cause  for  complaint. 
The  thermometer  rarely  varies  more  than  four  degrees 
in  the  twenty-four  hours,  say,  from  78°  to  82° — a 
delightful  temperature  when  you  know  exactly  what 
to  expect.  Nowhere  else  have  1  experienced  a  more 
luxurious  thirst  or  found  greater  pleasure  in  quenching 
it.  It  was  at  the  club  there  that  I  first  tasted  a 
delicious  beverage  called  Baglehole,"  and  when  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Baglehole,  the  genial 
P.  and  O.  agent,  I  could  only  conclude  that  he  had 
been    named   after   it.      This   admirable    thirst  is 


i6 


ABYSSINIA 


peculiarly  appropriate  in  such  a  metropolis  of  hospi- 
tality as  Aden.  It  is  impossible  to  go  anywhere  without 
being  greeted  with  the  merry  invitation,  "  Have  a 
drink  ?  "  One  day,  soon  after  my  arrival,  I  went  into 
a  mess-room  to  ask  my  way  to  a  friend's  house.  An 
officer  listened  to  my  inquiry,  and  then  answered  as 
a  matter  of  course,  "Have  a  drink  .'^  " 

Perhaps  throughout  these  lines  I  may  seem  to  have 
repeated  Aden,  Aden,  Aden  somewhat  too  frequently  ; 
but  for  me  it  has  a  soothing  melody  which  will  always 
linger  in  my  memory.  Readily  would  I  believe  the 
legend  that  here  is  the  site  of  the  earthly  paradise. 
Is  not  Abel's  tomb  there  among  the  hills  to  dispel  all 
doubt  ?  And  thouo-h  volcanoes  or  other  cataclvsms 
may  have  changed  the  physical  appearance  of  the 
spot,  though  trees  and  flowers  and  vegetables  are 
precious  rarities,  it  must  always  remain  for  me  the 
true  Garden  of  Aden. 


Chapter  II 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 

Ignorance  about  Abyssinia — Formalities  at  Aden — A  Programme  foi 
Travellers — The  Secret  of  Equipment — The  Folly  of  Filters — 
The  Key  to  an  Abyssinian  Heart — Physic  and  other  Fetishes — 
Snakes  and  Snake  Stories — Recruiting  a  Retinue — A  Phantom 
Chambermaid — "  Chits  "  and  Cheats— An  Ideal  Butler — The 
Pilgrim — A  cordo?t  iioir — "  Tomboys  " 

Every  one  seems  to  take  an  instinctive  interest  in 
Abyssinia.  I  scarcely  know  why,  unless  it  be  from 
recollections  of  Dr.  Johnson's  delightful  romance,  or 
of  that  brilliant  little  war,  when,  as  Disraeli  puts  it,  we 
''planted  the  banner  of  S.  George  upon  the  mountains 
of  Rasselas."  It  cannot  be  that  my  fellows-countrymen, 
so  invariably  absent-minded  as  to  the  most  vital  issues 
of  foreign  politics  until  they  are  suddenly  confronted 
by  a  crisis,  should  have  made  an  exception  in  favour 
of  an  empire  which  they  scarcely  distinguish  from  the 
realms  of  romance.  Indeed  I  hardly  know  any  land 
about  which  crasser  ignorance  prevails  amongst  us. 
I  defy  any  schoolboy  to  tell  me  the  name  of  Menelik's 
capital  offhand.  When  I  made  up  my  mind  to  go 
there  I  had  airy  notions  of  beginning  with  a  visit  to 
the  chief  towns  on  the  coast,  and  I  learned  with  surprise 
that  the  Ethiopian  seaboard  is  no  more  extensive 
than  that  of  the  Swiss  Republic.     I  consulted  a  tourist 

^7  c 


i8 


ABYSSINIA 


agency,  but  could  not  get  beyond  a  list  of  sailings  for 
the  Italian  port  of  Massowa,  whereby  I  should  have 
been  launched  upon  a  very  fine  wild-goose  chase. 

Even  when  I  had  discovered  that  my  avenue  lay 
through  Aden  and  Somaliland,  my  difficulties  had 
only  begun.  All  the  authorities  at  Aden  were  vastly 
polite,  but  they  vowed  with  one  consent  that  they 
knew  no  more  about  reaching  Abyssinia  than 
about  reachinor  the  moon.  I  asked  the  Resident 
for  permission  to  cross  Somaliland,  but  he  could 
only  regret  that  Somaliland  was  no  longer  under 
his  jurisdiction.  He  gave  me,  however,  a  very  de- 
lightful hint.  ''The  other  clay,"  quoth  he,  ''a  man 
came  to  ask  my  leave  to  travel  in  Arabia.  '  I  am  a 
person  of  no  consequence,'  he  told  me,  'and  if  I 
disappear  no  one  will  make  a  fuss  or  ask  what  has 
become  of  me.'  'Well,'  I  said,  'that's  good  enough 
for  me.  If  you  had  come  with  sheaves  of  intro- 
ductions, I  should  have  had  to  be  very  wary  before 
I  let  you  go,  but  after  what  you  have  told  me 
I  shall  do  nothing  to  prevent  your  departure.  In 
fact  I  don't  want  to  hear  any  more  of  you  or  your 
plans,  and  I  wish  you  a  pleasant  journey.'"  "Ah! 
now  I  shall  know  what  to  say  when  I  tackle  the 
Somali  coast  authorities,"  I  replied,  and  the  Resident 
was  hugely  amused. 

So  I  went  on  quietly  with  my  preparations  for 
departure,  merely  notifying  Colonel  Sadler,  the  British 
Consul-General  at  Berbera,  that  I  desired  to  pass 
through  Somaliland  into  Abyssinia.  My  equanimity, 
however,  did  not  last  very  long.    A  day  or  so  later 


WAYS  AND  MEANS  19 


I  met  the  Captain  who  is  in  charge  of  the  District 
Staff  Office,  and  he  told  me  that  he  had  on  his  wall 
printed  rules,  laying  down  stringent  conditions  as  to 
the  escort,  equipment,  &c.,  of  all  persons  who  wished 
to  travel  through  Somaliland.  He  advised  me  to  see 
the  Assistant  Political  Resident  if  I  did  not  wish  to 
be  stopped  at  the  outset.  That  gentleman  assured 
me  that  no  one  was  permitted  to  enter  Somaliland 
without  an  escort  of  at  least  fifteen  rifles.  I  said  I 
had  heard  so  many  conflicting  reports  that  I  thought 
my  best  plan  would  be  to  go  over  to  Berbera  and  find 
out  the  real  state  of  things.  If  the  worst  came  to  the 
worst,  I  could  at  least  set  off  inland  without  saying 
anything  to  anybody  and  trust  to  chance  to  pull  me 
through.  I  wound  up  by  relating  the  story  of  a 
friend  of  mine,  who  desired  to  visit  the  interior  of  the 
Villayet  of  Tripoli.  He  asked  leave  of  the  Pasha 
again  and  again,  but  it  was  always  refused.  At  last 
he  sent  out  his  camels  and  luggage  with  a  caravan, 
and  rode  out  to  join  them  unmolested.  This  little 
anecdote  was  far  from  appeasing  the  qualms  of  the 
Assistant  Political  Resident,  and  he  said  he  w^oulcl  not 
allow  me  even  to  cross  over  into  Somaliland  unless  I 
gave  him  my  word  not  to  go  inland  without  Colonel 
Sadler's  permission. 

"  But  surely,"  I  pleaded,  "if  I  go  without  leave,  the 
authorities  are  not  responsible  for  anything  that  may 
happen  to  me  ?  " 

"  Do  not  deceive  yourself.  There  is  the  question 
of  prestige.  If  an  Englishman  were  killed,  we  could 
not  afford  to  let  the  natives  go  unpunished  ;  otherwise 


20 


ABYSSINIA 


they  would  consider  themselves  at  liberty  to  kill  any 
other  Englishman  who  might  follow.  If  there  is  no 
danger  at  present  in  Somaliland,  doubtless  Colonel 
Sadler  will  let  you  go.  Otherwise  it  is  not  fair  for 
you  to  expect  the  country  to  undertake  a  troublesome 
punitive  expedition  for  your  amusement." 

"Well,  but  what  about  these  rities  ?  Can  I  buy 
them  here  or  must  I  wait  until  I  can  get  them 
from  England  ?  " 

"  You  ought  to  have  found  out  all  this  before  you 
set  out.  As  it  is,  you  can  ask  the  General  if  he  will 
let  you  have  them  from  the  arsenal." 

Back  again  to  the  General,  who  was  as  amiable  as 
ever,  but  said  he  could  only  let  me  have  the  necessary 
rifles  on  my  producing  Colonel  Sadler's  permit  to 
travel  throuoh  Somaliland.  Back  to  the  Assistant 
Political  Resident  to  ask  if  the  rifles  might  follow 
me  into  Africa  on  my  forwarding  my  permit.  No  ; 
the  rules  and  regulations  were  that  I  must  be  present 
to  take  them  over  myself  from  the  arsenal.  This 
opened  the  dismal  prospect  of  several  passages  across 
a  very  nasty  choppy  sea  in  a  cockleshell  boat,  where 
I  was  told  the  only  accommodation  would  be  on  deck 
amid  a  crowd  of  unsavoury  Somalis.  All  these  ex- 
cursions and  alarums  proved,  however,  to  be  utterly 
groundless.  I  was  privileged  to  travel  to  Berbera 
and  Zaila  in  the  luxurious  Royal  Indian  Marine  Ship 
Minto.  Colonel  Sadler  assured  me  at  once  that  there 
was  no  difficulty  whatever  about  granting  me  a  permit, 
and  that  no  escort  was  necessary,  though,  if  I  liked,  I 
might  take  a  couple  of  soldiers  from  Zaila  to  show 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


21 


that  I  was  travelling  under  the  aeois  of  the  British 
Government.  I  could  not  but  wonder  at  the  amazing 
ignorance  which  prevails  at  the  only  avenue  for 
Abyssinia  as  to  the  ways  and  means  of  proceeding 
thither.  I  am  not  presuming  to  blame  the  Aden 
officials,  for  thev  have  no  lonorer  anv  official  concern 
with  Somaliland.  But  if  ever  travel  in  North- 
Eastern  Africa  is  to  become  popular  it  will  be  well 
to  post  up  a  clerk  at  least  with  some  elementary 
information. 

Meanwhile  I  would  advise  prospective  pilgrims  to 
stay  at  Aden,  prepare  there  the  details  of  their 
journey,  and  enjoy  the  many  good  gifts  which  that 
delightful  station  has  to  offer.  Let  them  pay  no  heed 
to  any  advice  or  stipulation  which  may  be  advanced, 
but  pursue  their  way  with  confidence  and  equanimity. 
They  must  go  to  Aden,  if  only  to  procure  trusty 
servants,  and  thence  to  Zaila.  If  they  proceeded 
to  Massowa,  the  Italian  coast  town,  they  would  not 
be  permitted  to  proceed  far  inland,  for  Abyssinia  is 
still  jealous  of  Italy  despite  the  late  war,  and  though 
it  might  be  possible  to  pass  by  way  of  Jibuti,  the 
French  colony,  vexation  and  danger  w^ould  be  un- 
avoidable. French  spy-mania  would  be  brought  to 
bear  at  the  port,  and  the  consequences  of  French 
indiscretion  in  the  interior  would  expose  a  traveller 
to  attacks  from  the  natives. 

I  was  quite  without  experience  in  the  matter  of 
equipment  for  an  African  journey,  and  of  course  all 
manner  of  people  volunteered  all  'manner  of  advice, 
but  it  was  so  hopelessly  conflicting  that  I  wisely 


22 


ABYSSINIA 


determined  to  disregard  the  greater  part  of  it  and 
trust  to  that  special  providence  which  watches  over 
drunkards,  sailors,  and  other  improvident  persons. 
Looking  back  upon  it  all,  I  am  stupefied  by  the 
success  which  attended  me.  If  I  were  recommencing 
to-morrow  I  should  make  very  little  alteration  in  my 
outfit  or  stores,  and  compared  with  those  of  other 
travellers  I  hear  about,  my  arrangements  all  went 
by  clockwork.  It  was  an  exceedingly  proud  day 
when  I  met  a  party  of  old  hardened  explorers  in  the 
heart  of  Abyssinia  and  learned  that  they  had  not  a 
tithe  of  my  comfort  though  they  spent  ten  times  as 
much  money.  I  flatter  myself  that  I  had  everything 
I  wanted  as  far  as  was  possible  without  making  my 
baggage  unwieldy.  When  I  reached  Addis  Ababa, 
the  British  Minister,  Captain  Harrington,  told  me  he 
considered  the  secret  of  successful  equipment  was  to 
take  as  few  necessaries  and  as  many  luxuries  as  pos- 
sible. This,  I  found  on  reflection,  was  the  principle 
I  had  instinctively  adopted.  It  would  be  wearisome 
to  go  into  too  much  detail  here,  but  I  may  record 
triumphantly  that  I  took  neither  tinned  nor  potted 
meats,  no  Liebig,  no  sardines,  no  ship's  biscuit,  no 
desiccated  foods— in  a  word,  none  of  the  dreary 
morsels  which  figure  most  prominently  in  an  out- 
fitter's catalogue,  whereas  I  was  not  wholly  destitute 
of  truffles,  liqueurs,  green  peas,  or  foie  gras. 

Indeed,  in  some  respects  I  could  wish  I  had 
resisted  conventional  theories  even  more  heroically. 
For  instance,  I  was  persuaded,  against  my  better 
instincts,   to  take  a  filter.    As  I  am  not  a  water- 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


23 


drinker,  I  argued  that  it  would  be  as  unnecessary 
as  any  item  in  the  outfit  of  the  hunters  of  the  snark, 
with  their  mousetraps  and  beehives  against  improbable 
eventualities.  However,  everybody  insisted,  and  I 
took  the  latest  German  patent.  I  tried  it  one  day 
out  of  curiosity,  standing  it  in  a  pail  and  sucking  away 
industriously  at  a  nauseous  indiarubber  tube  for  half 
an  hour,  with  the  result  that  I  extracted  half  a  wine- 
glassful  of  brackish  liquid.  On  the  other  hand,  all 
the  experts  protested  that  it  would  be  ludicrous  to 
take  soda-water,  and  I  weakly  restricted  myself 
to  some  six  dozen — a  concession  I  regretted  bitterly 
before  I  was  half-way  out. 

To  cut  a  long  story  short,  whiskey  is  an  immense 
boon,  on  no  account  to  be  forootten.  Doubtless  it  is 
nasty  to  drink,  but  the  Abyssinians  love  it,  and  the 
judicious  gift  of  a  glass  or  bottle  convinces  them  of 
their  duty  when  threats  or  blows  or  lavish  proffers 
of  dollars  would  be  of  no  avail.  I  remember  one 
muleteer  in  particular.  He  would  make  all  sorts  of 
difficulties  about  trifles,  and  grumble  about  the  execu- 
tion  of  nearly  all  my  orders.  At  last  I  discovered  a 
short  cut  for  every  knot.  He  would  approach  with 
his  mouth  full  of  complaints  and  a  scowl  on  his  brow. 
Directly  I  saw  him  coming,  and  before  he  had  time  to 
say  a  word,  I  would  bid  him  wait  a  moment  while 
I  called  to  my  butler  for  whiskey.  A  great  grin 
would  steal  over  the  grumpy  features,  everybody  all 
round  would  fall  a-laughing,  the  clouds  were  dis- 
sipated, and  I  would  be  given  my  own  way  with  a 
shrug.    Unfortunately,  however,  as  the  days  went  on, 


24 


ABYSSINIA 


the  rogue  needed  soothing  in  this  way  more  and  more 
frequently. 

The  question  of  physic  is  one  to  be  confronted. 
Hundreds  of  miles  from  doctors  and  chemists,  we  are, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  probably  far  safer  than  at  home, 
in  the  present  condition  of  medical  lore.  But  we  have 
been  brought  up  to  buy  a  guinea's  worth  of  advice 
every  time  a  little  finger  aches,  and  early  impressions 
are  hard  to  shake  off.  Moreover,  I  argued  that,  just 
as  you  have  only  to  take  out  an  umbrella  to  ensure  a 
brilliant  day,  so  should  a  well-fitted  medicine  chest 
ward  off  disease.  In  fact  I  bought  things  chiefly 
as  an  amulet,  after  lengthy  consultation  w4th  a 
doctor  in  England  and  another  at  Aden,  who  ran 
through  the  whole  gamut  of  tropical  disease  for  my 
benefit.  They  told  me  the  latest  theory  was  to 
attribute  fever  to  mosquito  bites,  ^  so  I  took  a  net 
which  cumbered  my  tent  very  inconveniently,  and 
various  essential  oils  which  disgusted  me  far  more 
than  they  did  the  mosquitoes. 

They  bade  me,  in  case  of  snake-bite,  gash  the 
afflicted  part  with  a  knife  and  tie  tight  bandages 
to  stop  the  circulation.  But  I  know  very  well  that 
I  would  far  rather  risk  being  poisoned  than  proceed 
to  such  violent  measures.  So  I  told  them  a  story 
which  I  had  from  one  of  their  own  fraternity.  A 
man  came  to  him  and  exhibited  a  maimed  hand, 

^  Oddly  enough,  when  Burton  travelled  in  Somaliland  fifty  years 
ago,  he  found  this  theory  current  among  the  natives,  but  dismissed 
it  as  a  "  superstition  "  attributable  to  "  the  fact  that  mosquitoes  and 
fevers  become  formidable  about  the  same  time." 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


25 


saying,  "  See,  I  was  bitten  by  a  snake  in  the  finger, 
so  I  cut  it  off  at  once.  Was  I  not  right  ?  Did  this 
not  save  my  life  ? "  After  obtaining  a  description 
of  the  snake  the  doctor  said,  You  certainly  acted 
with  great  presence  of  mind,"  but  commenting  on  the 
incident  afterwards  to  his  friends,  he  exclaimed,  "  I 
had  not  the  heart  to  tell  him  the  truth,  for,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  reptile  was  perfectly  harmless." 
For  my  part,  I  believe  I  placed  chief  reliance  upon  a 
certain  black  stone  from  the  amphitheatre  of  El- J  em, 
reputed  by  Muhammadans  to  be  very  potent  against 
both  serpents  and  scorpions.  This  I  always  kept  in 
my  pocket,  and  almost  the  only  snake  I  saw  fled  at 
my  approach.  Snakes  (or  at  least  snake  stories)  are, 
however,  very  prevalent  in  Abyssinia.  I  met  an 
Englishman  at  Tadechamalka  who  had  found  an 
exceptionally  venomous  one  in  his  bed.  And  a 
Greek  at  Lagahardim  assured  me  that  boa  con- 
strictors w^ere  very  voracious  there,  often  swallowing 
men  up  while  they  slept.  Indeed,  so  frequent  was 
this  catastrophe  that  it  was  the  habit  for  people 
sleeping  in  the  open  air  to  keep  their  legs  spread 
well  apart  so  that  a  boa  might  be  pulled  off  before 
it  had  o-one  too  far. 

Probably  the  most  important  preparation  of  any  is 
that  of  selecting  servants  for  the  journey,  and  I  attri- 
bute most  of  the  smoothness  of  my  progress  to  the 
good  fortune — or  shall  I  say  wisdom  ? — of  my  choice. 
I  had  been  told  all  sorts  of  foolish  things  about  possible 
mutinies  and  probable  desertions  in  the  desert.  But 
I  believe  the   average  Somali   is   perfectly  trusty, 


26 


ABYSSINIA 


especially  if  he  be  well  treated.  His  gratitude  is 
easily  aroused,  he  is  cheerful  even  in  adversity,  and  he 
is  often  plenteously  endowed  with  common  sense,  as 
well  as  wit.  The  best,  as  well  as  the  worst,  are  to  be 
found  at  Aden,  where  contact  with  civilisation  accen- 
tuates their  natural  points.  I  had  ample  opportunity 
of  observing-  these  points  while  preparing  for  my  leap 
in  the  dark.  I  was  scarcely  installed  in  my  hotel 
before  the  news  spread  like  wildfire  that  an  English- 
man was  recruiting  for  Abyssinia.  From  early  morn 
till  long  past  a  dewless  eve  candidates  would  present 
themselves  for  my  service. 

To  appreciate  the  scene  it  is  necessary  to  realise 
the  surroundinors.  I  thouo^ht  I  had  staved  at  everv 
possible  variety  of  hotel,  north  and  south  and  east  and 
west  and  far  and  near,  but  the  Grand  Hotel  de 
rUnivers  at  Aden  was  unlike  any  of  them.  No  doubt 
it  would  strike  an  Anglo-Indian  as  supremely  common- 
place, but  to  me  it  was  full  of  freshness  and  originality. 
Indeed,  I  took  a  long  time  to  get  over  the  illusion 
that  the  landlord  and  I  were  playing  at  being  on 
board  ship.  My  bedroom  was  a  saloon,  with  doors 
opening  on  to  a  long  deck  or  verandah  on  each  side. 
In  the  morninor  I  souirht  the  shade  on  the  east  deck, 
in  the  afternoon  on  the  west.  The  doors  w^ere  always 
open,  day  and  night,  for  at  Aden,  as  in  the  Red  Sea, 
everybody  aims  at  living  in  a  perpetual  draught. 
The  wind  dries  up  your  ink  in  an  afternoon,  and  you 
must  lay  in  a  large  stock  of  paperweights,  for  every- 
thing volatile  is  liable  to  be  whisked  off  to  sea  at  any 
moment. 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


27 


It  was  impossible  ever  to  be  dull  on  these  decks,  if 
only  for  the  society  of  the  Somali  chambermaid.  She 
belonged  to  the  lowest  caste,  which  alone  condescends 
to  sweep  tloors  and  empty  slops,  but  she  evidently 
thought  no  small  beer  of  herself.  When  the  barber 
declined  to  take  no  for  my  answer,  she  would  whack 
him  over  the  head  with  her  broom,  and  hustle  him 
ignominiously  away  towards  the  companion — I  mean 
the  stairs.  All  day  long  this  broom  was  in  her  hand, 
and  she  swept,  swept,  swept  as  if  fulfilling  some 
fiendish  penance.  So  far  as  I  could  make  out,  she 
spent  her  time  in  sweeping  great  clouds  of  dust  from 
north  to  south,  and  then  back  again  from  south  to 
north.  Sometimes  she  would  kneel  down,  collect  a 
handful  of  dust,  and  flino-  it  as  an  oblation  into  the 
roadway,  but  the  supply  of  clouds  never  seemed  to  be 
diminished.  The  presence  of  white  men  sipping 
coffee  or  "  pegs  "  on  lounge  chairs  was  never  allowed 
to  interfere  with  this  working  out  of  her  destiny. 
Like  the  whirlwind  in  Dante,  "  dusty  to  van  ward,  on 
she  rode  superb."  Neither  yells  nor  entreaties  on 
my  part  ever  availed  to  persuade  her  that  she  must 
not  sweep  her  choking  cloud  straight  at  me.  She 
was  always  imperturbable.  Her  big  luminous  eyes 
wore  no  expression  of  any  kind  ;  her  serious  pouting 
lips  never  permitted  themselves  to  smile.  The  witch 
seemed  to  take  no  interest  in  anything  save  her 
broomstick  and  her  cloud.  At  last  I  chanced  to 
discover  a  short  way  for  putting  her  to  flight.  Her 
appearance  always  delighted  me,  with  her  coal-black 
skin  and  the  original  costume,  which  was  limited  to  a 


28 


ABYSSINIA 


couple  of  coloured  pocket-handkerchiefs,  a  massive 
silver  necklace,  a  turban,  and  some  monstrous  silver 
earrings  ;  so  of  course  I  must  try  to  photograph  her. 
Hardly  had  I  brought  out  my  camera,  when  this  usually 
silent  creature  emitted  a  shrill  scream,  and  fled  down 
the  deck  helter-skelter,  scattering  her  broomstick  and 
fresh  clouds  of  dust  as  she  went.  Thenceforward  I 
had  but  to  make  a  movement  towards  the  camera  in 
order  to  protect  myself  effectively  against  her  perse- 
cutions. 

Scarcely  had  I  crept  on  to  the  verandah  in  my 
pyjamas  to  discuss  toast  and  coffee  among  the 
dust  clouds,  before  stealthy  figures  w^ould  steal  along 
the  deck,  shuffle  off  their  rude  fat  slippers,  salaam, 
and  hold  out  a  greasy,  grimy  bit  of  paper  or  packet  of 
papers.  These  are  known  among  Anglo-Indians  as 
''chits,"  and  constitute  the  written  character  bestowed 
by  previous  employers.  As  nearly  all  Somalis  are 
called  either  Abdul,  Reggel,  Muhammad,  or  Adah, 
these  documents  are  easily  interchangeable,  and  I 
have  known  two  men  proffer  the  same  "chits"  within 
the  space  of  half  an  hour.  It  was  therefore  wise  to 
insist  upon  a  personal  reference  also.  But  as  a  rule 
the  chaff  could  be  sifted  from  the  wheat  in  five 
minutes,  for  your  Somali  wears  his  character  upon 
his  sleeve.  Some  would  enter  my  room  with  their 
slippers  on,  and  thereby  disqualify  themselves  at 
once,  for  by  local  etiquette  this  is  a  gross  and  inten- 
tional insult.  Even  the  groom  behind  your  dog-cart 
may  not  wear  his  shoes.  Others  with  an  impudent 
temperament  would  hasten  to  exhibit  their  impudence. 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


29 


I  remember  one,  whose  English  was  ahiiost  unintel- 
ligible, mentioning  that  he  also  spoke  French.  "  Do 
you  speak  it  better  than  you  do  English?  "  I  inquired. 
"  But,  sah'b,"  he  expostulated,  I  spik  Inglees 
puffickly,"  and  I  wished  him  a  puffick  good  morning. 
Another  tried  to  cheat  me  out  of  three  rupees  within 
half  an  hour  of  his  appearance  with  fulsome  "  chits," 
and  I  made  bitter  reflections  upon  the  mistaken  good- 
nature which  induces  some  people  to  foist  their  bad 
servants  upon  the  unsuspecting.  To  my  thinking,  it 
is  worse  than  passing  bad  money,  and  ought  to  be 
made  a  felony.  No  doubt  some  manliness  is  required 
to  refuse  a  character,  but  the  effort  should  be  preached 
from  every  pulpit  and  at  every  mother's  knee.  I 
myself  am  quite  ready  to  supply  sermons  on  the 
subject  free  of  charge. 

My  first  choice  was  a  providential  one,  and  I  shall 
have  much  to  say  about  Abdi,  son  of  Ismail,  during 
this  narrative,  not  only  because  of  his  influence  upon 
my  journey,  but  because  he  w^as  so  thoroughly  typical 
of  the  ideal  Somali.  There  must  have  been  some- 
thing peculiarly  taking  about  his  manners  and  ex- 
pression, or  I  should  never  have  engaged  him  in  the 
face  of  several  discourao-ing^  circumstances.  To  beg^in 
with,  he  arrived  with  the  man  who  tried  to  cheat  me 
of  three  rupees  and  seemed  to  be  his  close  ally. 
Then  his  "chits"  were  by  no  means  enthusiastic; 
one  remarked  drily  that  he  had  been  dismissed  for 
absence  without  leave  ;  another  deplored  his  religious 
fanaticism,  and  his  tendency  to  devote  to  prayers  time 
which  was  due  to  his  master.     With  unconscious 


30 


ABYSSINIA 


cynicism,  it  went  on  to  say  that  "  though  so  religious, 
Abdi  is  invariably  cheerful,"  as  if  the  two  were  hope- 
lessly incompatible.  Another  drawback  was  that  he 
knew  no  Englishman  in  Aden  to  give  him  a  personal 
character.  However,  I  took  a  fancy  to  him,  and 
engaged  him  on  the  spot  as  a  subordinate  servant. 
Before  many  days  had  past,  my  belief  in  him  had 
grown  so  far  that  I  made  him  my  headman,  or  chief 
of  the  staff ;  before  we  had  travelled  many  miles  I  was 
so  struck  by  his  attentive  consideration  and  unfailing- 
resource  that  I  doubled  his  wages  ;  and  by  the  end 
of  the  journey  I  wanted  to  bring  him  back  to 
England. 

My  shikari — shall  I  translate  him  gamekeeper  ? — was 
also  represented  on  his  "  chits as  being  inordinately 
religious,  but  both  he  and  Abdi  must  have  outgrown 
this,  for  they  did  not  even  observe  Ramadan  on  the 
road  ;  they  seemed  to  know  that  was  very  wrong,  for 
when  I  commented  upon  it  to  Abdi  he  assured  me  in 
a  somewhat  shamefaced  way  that  he  should  make  up 
his  arrears  of  fasting  when  he  returned  to  Aden, 
adding,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  "I  no  forget, 
sah'b."  This  remissness  was  all  the  more  repre- 
hensible in  the  case  of  the  shikari,  as  he  had  made  the 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca  and  traded  on  the  reputation  for 
sanctity  which  it  had  conferred  upon  him.  No  one 
ever  called  him  by  his  name — it  was  always  Hajji, 
Pilgrim.  Neither  he  nor  any  of  my  men  ever 
indulged  in  that  parade  of  prayer  and  prostration 
which  is  so  dear  to  the  zealous  Moslem.  Only  on  the 
question  of  alcohol  was  there  any  evidence  of  bigotry. 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


31 


The  shikari  was  a  great  strapping  fellow,  the  very 
picture  of  health  and  strength  ;  but  when  he  had 
eaten  too  much  mutton,  he  would  give  way  to  the 
most  terrible  depression.  "  Oh,  sah'b ! "  he  would 
exclaim,  in  his  quaint  scriptural  language,  "  I  have  a 
great  pain  in  my  belly."  He  had  the  faculty  of  irri- 
tating me  more  than  any  one  I  ever  met,  and  I  would 
answer  roughly,  Hope  it'll  teach  you  not  to  overeat 
yourself,  you  swine."  But  presently  he  would  double 
himself  up,  vow  he  could  carry  my  gun  no  further, 
and  plead  piteously  for  medicine.  I  would  produce 
my  flask,  and  tell  him  that  a  few  drops  of  brandy 
would  relieve  him  at  once.  He  would  eye  it  wistfully 
and  then  remark  with  regret,  ''Not  good  for  Muham- 
madan  man,  sah'b." 

The  Pilgrim  possessed  truly  wonderful  "  chits." 
He  could  dive  like  a  fish,  there  was  no  one  to  rival 
him  as  a  tracker  of  game,  he  was  as  bold  as  a  lion, 
nothing  could  ever  tire  him,  and  so  forth.  I  ascer- 
tained also  that  he  was  a  man  of  some  position  at 
Aden,  possessing  boats  of  his  own,  and  I  gathered 
that  it  was  rather  a  favour  on  his  part  to  consent  to 
accompany  me.  In  practice  I  found  him  the  stupidest 
of  mortals.  He  wore  on  his  great  ugly  face  an 
habitual  grin,  or  rather  a  contortion  which  did  duty 
for  a  grin  ;  when  his  face  was  in  repose,  his  mouth 
would  remain  wide  open,  like  that  of  a  drowsy  dog 
hoping  to  catch  fiies  without  taking  any  trouble. 
Whenever  I  caught  sight  of  him  I  longed  to  kick 
him  ;  I  felt  I  could  have  killed  him  for  his  grin  ;  and 
his  stolid  reception  of  my  insults  would  increase  my 


32 


ABYSSINIA 


hatred  an  hundredfold.  UnHke  any  other  Somali,  he 
was  entirely  destitute  of  a  sense  of  humour  and  a  sense 
of  cleanliness.  Wherever  he  went,  there  was  always 
a  thick  black  cluster  of  thousands  of  flies  congregated 
upon  his  grimy  back.  Like  every  other  Somali,  he 
always  carried  a  gun  so  that  it  should  be  pointing 
straight  at  me.  If  he  walked  in  front,  it  would  be 
poised  at  right  angles  over  his  shoulder  ;  if  he  walked 
behind,  he  swung  it  in  his  hand  so  as  to  keep  my  back 
well  covered.  When  I  was  riding,  I  would  often  find 
that  six  or  eight  men  were  escorting  me,  each  with  a 
gun  pointed  straight  at  me.  I  would  remonstrate  and 
take  some  trouble  to  explain  how  guns  should  be 
carried  ;  great  gratitude  would  be  expressed  to  me  for 
the  lesson,  and  five  minutes  later  I  would  find  that 
every  one  had  returned  unconsciously  to  his  original 
position.  The  Pilgrim  could  not  even  clean  a  gun 
properly,  and  as  to  his  tracking  of  game,  I  believe 
I  surpassed  him  at  it  before  I  had  had  a  week's 
experience. 

I  engaged  another  man  as  headman  on  the  strength 
of  "  chits  "  which  were  as  unfairly  enthusiastic  as  those 
of  the  Pilgrim.  They  also  alluded  to  religious  fana- 
ticism, but  I  had  begun  to  disbelieve  in  its  drawbacks. 
However,  I  soon  found  that  if  ever  I  turned  my  back 
for  five  minutes  he  would  rush  off  to  the  nearest  piece 
of  sand  and  prostrate  himself  in  prayers  which  seemed 
to  last  for  ever.  He  was  the  very  antithesis  of  old 
Daddy  Longlegs.  He  rarely  carried  out  any  order  I 
gave  him,  and  always  seemed  to  think  it  an  ample 
excuse  that  he  had  been  saying  his  prayers.  Indeed 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


33 


he  would  tell  me  this  in  a  tone  of  solemn  reproof,  as  if 
to  imply  that  I  must  be  a  sad  infidel  if  I  ever  desired 
him  to  do  anything  else.  Fortunately  I  discovered 
his  character  before  I  left  Aden,  and  dispensed  with 
his  services,  to  his  infinite  amazement. 

Besides  Abdi  and  the  Pilgrim,  I  engaged  there 
Reggel,  my  cook,  a  little  man  of  infinite  cheeriness, 
who  never  grew  tired  or  discontented,  whose  smiling 
face  was  always  an  infallible  remedy  against  depres- 
sion, and,  better  still,  whose  culinary  powers  were 
little  short  of  marvellous.  In  whatever  desolate 
region  we  might  chance  to  be,  he  would  quickly  collect 
three  stones  and  a  little  brushwood,  and  in  half  an 
hour  or  so  I  was  made  happy  with  an  excellent 
dinner,  such  as  would  satisfy  most  people  at  a  London 
tavern.  His  Engrlish  also  afforded  me  unceasingf 
delight.  I  shall  never  forget  the  solemn,  unconscious 
way  in  which  he  asked  me  one  day,  "  What  time  you 
like  your  grub,  sah'b  ?  "  He  used  to  keep  the  purse 
for  current  expenses,  and  his  accounts  would  often  be 
screamingly  funny.  "  Mule's  grub  "  was  an  item  which 
never  failed  to  delight  me. 

On  reaching  Zaila  I  asked  our  Consul,  Mr.  Harold, 
what  other  servants  I  should  require.  He  said  that 
with  my  three  men  from  Aden,  the  two  soldiers  he 
was  going  to  lend  me,  a  syce  and  two  tent-boys  from 
Zaila,  I  should  have  enough  to  take  me  up  to  Harrar. 
His  ideas  of  choosing  servants  were  far  simpler  than 
mine.  At  his  beck,  three  blacks  in  ragged  sheets  and 
loincloths  turned  up  one  morning  and  stood  in  line 
on  the  sand  in  front  of  the  Consulate.    We  leaned 

D 


34 


ABYSSINIA 


over  the  verandah,  and  surveyed  them.  They  each 
stood  on  one  leg,  holding  the  other  foot  in  one  hand, 
the  favourite  Somali  way  of  standing  at  ease.  He 
asked  them  which  was  the  syce,  and  they  began  to 
consult  among  themselves — a  proceeding  which  might 
have  implied  that  they  all  knew  how  to  look  after  a 
mule,  but  which  really  meant,  as  I  surmised,  that  they 
were  all  equally  ignorant.  However,  the  lot  fell  at 
last  upon  an  ugly,  slouching  youth.  Mr.  Harold 
asked  their  names  and  wages,  and  I  was  told  to  con- 
sider them  engaged.  One  of  the  tent-boys  was  called 
Dimbil,  a  solemn  little  man  with  a  beard,  reminding 
me  of  a  respectable  English  butler  ;  the  other  looked 
very  strong,  but  turned  out  very  lazy,  and  had  to  be 
sent  home  from  Harrar  as  an  example.  A  Somali 
cannot  say  the  word  tent,  so  the  pair  came  to  be 
known  as  "  the  tomboys."  Nadif,  the  syce,  was  very 
disheartening  at  first  ;  he  scarcely  knew  the  mule's 
head  from  its  tail,  and  it  seemed  as  though  I  should 
never  teach  him  to  put  on  a  saddle  and  bridle. 
However,  he  was  willing  and  energetic,  he  never 
showed  signs  of  fatigue,  even  after  running  all  day, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  future  employers  will  find  him 
quite  useful. 

I  have  now  introduced  the  nucleus  of  my  retinue, 
and  will  leave  them  to  tell  their  own  story  in  future 
chapters  of  my  narrative.  Apart  from  the  fun  to  be 
derived  from  their  acute  sense  of  humour,  they  are 
worth  the  attention  of  intending  travellers.  Again 
and  again  I  met  old  hardened  explorers  who  got  on 
very  badly  with  their  servants,  so  I  feel  that  with  all 


WAYS  AND  MEANS 


35 


my  inexperience,  I  instinctively  picked  up  the  knack  of 
managing  Somalis,  and  I  hope  that  I  may  impart  this 
fncidentally  to  others.  Mr.  Harold  is  of  opinion  that 
most  people  make  a  mistake  in  bringing  over  their 
subordinate  servants  from  Berbera  or  Aden,  and  it  is 
certainly  true  that  one  should  take  Zaila  men  for  a 
journey  through  the  country  of  the  Issas,  who  are 
their  tribesmen.  The  tribal  feeling  is  very  strong, 
and  in  the  unlikely  event  of  a  disturbance  it  would  be 
a  great  advantage  to  have  friends  at  court. 


Chapter  III 


BRITISH  SOMALILAXD 

A  Leap  in  the  Dark — From  Asia  to  Africa — Berbera — Bulbar — Zaila 
— A  Colonial  Triumph — Somali  Constabulary — Administration 
— Security — A  British  Proconsul  at  Work — The  Irish  of  Africa 
— Murder  as  a  Sport. 

Said  an  old  Indian  captain  on  the  P.  and  O.  steamer, 
"  Several  of  us  were  talking  about  you  and  your 
journev  to  Abyssinia  in  the  smokinor-room  last  niorht, 
and  we  all  agreed  that  we  had  never  heard  of  anything 
so  vague  and  haphazard  in  the  way  of  an  expedition. 
For  my  part  I  don't  believe  you'll  get  any  nearer  to 
Abyssinia  than  Aden." 

I  laughed  it  off,  but  I  felt  some  qualms  at  this  ill- 
omened  remark  ;  for  once  upon  a  time  I  announced 
that  I  was  going  to  Greenland,  and  some  one  said  to 
me,  "  I  don't  believe  you'll  get  any  nearer  to  Green- 
land than  Greenwich,"  which  turned  out  to  be  the 
case. 

As  I  made  my  leap  in  the  dark,  my  evil  forebodings 
were  deepened  by  the  recommendations  of  kind  friends 
who  thouo^ht  I  lacked  caution.  \Mien  I  arrived  on 
board  the  R.I. M.S.  Minto  on  Friday  afternoon, 
December  i,  1899,  there  were  loud  exclamations  over 

the  two  porters,  who  followed  me  with  sacks  of  silver 

36 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


37 


coins  on  their  heads.  To  go  into  wild  regions  with 
such  a  display  of  wealth  was  courting  disaster,  I  was 
told.  I  retorted  upon  my  critics,  without  deep  con- 
viction, perhaps,  that  the  caravan  route  through 
Somaliland  and  Abyssinia  was  as  safe  as  Piccadilly, 
but  they  returned  that,  if  I  walked  down  Piccadilly  at 
night-time  exhibiting  sacks  full  of  silver,  I  might 
chance  to  lose  a  good  many  of  them.  In  the  end  I 
found  an  amiable  merchant  at  Zaila,  who  took  my 
cumbrous  coins  and  gave  me  a  letter  of  credit  upon 
Harrar,  where  further  credit  was  arranged  for  Addis 
Ababa,  the  capital  of  Abyssinia. 

I  left  the  Garden  of  Aden  with  every  regret,  but 
the  wrench  of  severing  myself  from  civilisation  was 
tempered  by  the  pleasant  company  I  found  on  board 
the  Minto.  Besides  the  officers  of  the  ship  I  found 
congenial  fellow-passengers  in  several  members  of  the 
Aden  garrison,  some  convoying  troops  to  the  Somali 
coast,  others  seeking  ozone  after  a  touch  of  fever,  and 
others  preparing  to  make  scientific  observations  at 
Perim.  There  were  also  a  couple  of  tame  cheetah 
cubs,  the  peculiar  pets  of  the  captain.  They  were  quite 
at  home  on  board,  and  afforded  constant  amusement 
by  their  antics  and  an  odd  whistling  noise,  which  one 
of  the  officers  was  able  to  imitate  to  perfection.  The 
cheetah  is,  I  believe,  the  connecting  link  between  the 
dog  and  the  cat,  and  possesses  all  the  best  qualities  of 
both.  An  acquaintance  of  mine  once  brought  one 
home  from  these  parts  and  reduced  it  to  absolute 
tameness,  so  that  it  would  beg  and  trust  and  exhibit 
every  variety  of  parlour  trick.     His  great  amusement 


38 


ABYSSINIA 


was  to  take  it  out  for  strolls  about  Kensington,  when 
it  would  drive  old  ladies  crazy  by  trying  to  play  with 
their  lap-dogs.  One  day  it  terrified  a  man  from  the 
Stores,  who  espied  it  at  the  door  and  dropped  a 
basketful  of  glass,  which  was  cast  down  and  shivered 
to  pieces.    At  last  it  grew  so  unpopular  that  he* had 


BERBERA. 


to  dispose  of  it,  but  he  has  never  ceased  to  regret  its 
loss. 

Next  day  we  reached  Berbera,  which  looked  exactly 
like  the  ordinary  African  coast  town  such  as  every 
book  of  adventure  describes  a  hundred  times.  A  low 
line  of  white  houses  and  straw  huts  just  showed  above 
the  skyline  at  the  edge  of  a  sandy  plain,  a  flagstaff 
standing  out  to  mark  the  residence  of  Colonel  Sadler, 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


39 


the  British  Consul-General.  Distant  hills  were  just 
discernible  in  the  haze  behind.  The  glare  was  blind- 
ing, but  a  pleasant  breeze  tempered  the  furious  heat. 
Ships  cannot  come  near  to  the  town,  so  there  was  a 
tedious  pull  to  the  shore,  then  a  scramble  of  some  ten 
feet  up  a  sheer  wall  at  the  end  of  the  pier,  involving 


BERBERA. 


much  barking  of  shins.  A  stroll  round  the  town  re- 
vealed nothing  of  absorbing  interest.  One  quarter  was 
composed  entirely  of  glistening  whitewashed  houses, 
but  the  greater  part  consisted  of  dingy  cabins  covered 
with  ragged  matting.  The  streets  were  fairly  broad 
and  straight,  having  been  rebuilt  under  European 
direction  after  a  fire.  Tall,  thin  Somalis  stalked  about 
carrying  long  white  staves  over  their  shoulders.  Most 


40 


ABYSSINIA 


of  them  were  clad  in  drab  sacking,  but  some  young- 
dandies  wore  bright  scarlet  sashes  of  some  fluffy 
material  over  their  shoulders  and  loins.  I  came  upon 
a  curious  water-tank,  enclosed  in  a  palisade,  and 
amused  myself  by  photographing  the  crowds  of  women 
of  all  ages,  who  were  busy  filling  water-skins  there. 
They  also  affected  scanty  drab  raiment,  but  mostly 


THE  CUSTOM  HOUSE  AT  BERBERA. 


wore  ornaments  of  silver  and  amber  round  their  necks. 
Shops  were  few.  Occasionally  I  descried  a  coffee- 
house, where  crowds  of  natives  were  chattering  over 
their  cups  both  indoors  and,  Parisian  fashion,  out  into 
the  street.  I  was  shown  a  shop  kept  by  a  Jew  and 
told  that  he  "sold  everything,"  but  I  could  not  make 
out  that  this  comprehensive  term  meant  much  more 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


41 


than  clothes  and  sugar,  the  clothes  being  restricted 
to  the  ubiquitous  drab  sacking.  The  Butchers'  bazaar 
was  more  curious  than  appetising.  It  consisted  of  a 
framework  of  beams,  from  which  were  suspended 
scraggy  scraps  of  what  I  was  inclined  to  mistake  for 
cat's-meat.  Colonel  Sadler  told  me  there  was  nothing 
to  buy  at  Berbera  but  a  few  Somali  shields  and  spears. 

After  nightfall  the  captain  and  I  set  out  again  from 
the  Minto  to  dine  on  shore.  Never  have  I  known 
such  pitch  darkness  anywhere.  The  only  lights  were 
those  of  Colonel  Sadler's  house  and  the  long  shivers 
of  phosphorus  set  going  by  every  stroke  of  the  oars. 
Presently  a  servant  appeared  on  the  beach  with  a 
lantern,  and  we  made  straight  for  him,  with  the  result 
that  we  were  speedily  stranded  on  a  shoal.  Here  a 
large  fish  suddenly  leaped  on  board.  This  is  con- 
sidered a  very  lucky  omen  by  the  sailors,  but  these 
fish  have  very  sharp  noses  and  have  been  known  to 
black  or  gouge  out  an  eye. 

At  last  we  reached  the  pier,  and,  after  repeating  our 
morning's  scramble  in  dress  clothes,  had  the  pleasure 
of  wading  some  distance  through  deep  sand.  How- 
ever, we  were  rewarded  by  a  very  pleasant  dinner,  as 
well  as  by  the  privilege  of  making  acquaintance  with 
Colonel  Sadler's  delightful  dog.  Among  his  many 
accomplishments  is  that  of  finding  any  object,  which 
he  has  been  given  to  smell,  wherever  it  may  be 
hidden.  He  has  a  great  partiality  for  whiskey,  and 
sometimes  gratifies  it  with  a  distinct  sense  of  humour. 
One  very  thirsty  evening  a  guest  was  reclining  in  one 
of  Colonel  Sadler's  long  cane  lounges  on  the  verandah. 


42 


ABYSSINIA 


He  placed  a  full  tumbler  of  whiskey  and  soda  by 
his  side  and  proceeded  to  converse.  Presently  he 
stretched  out  his  hand  for  his  glass  and  gave  a  great 
start  on  finding  it  was  empty.  He  was  convinced 
that  he  had  put  it  down  full  a  few  minutes  before, 
equally  positive  that  he  had  not  touched  it ;  yet  how 
could  this  liquid  have  disappeared  without  disturbing 
the  glass?  It  was  as  uncanny  as  Maupassant's 
description  of  the  "  Horla,"  a  horrid  vampire  which 
drank  up  the  glasses  of  water  at  a  man's  bedside 
before  driving  him  mad  ;  but  it  was  all  explained 
when  the  dog  emerged  wagging  his  tail  and  reeking 
indecently  of  spirits. 

Next  day  we  stood  off  Bulbar,  where  a  British 
Consul  named  Jones  resides  in  solitary  monotonous 
gloom.  The  usual  row  of  square  houses  and  huts  on 
the  beach  with  the  usual  flacrstaff  and  distant  hills  did 

o 

not  invite  me  to  brave  the  surf.  Those  who  did  so 
were  drenched  on  their  way  ashore  and  then  had  to 
choose  between  wadinof  in  or  beinsf  carried  with  their 
legs  round  Somalis'  necks.  I  preferred  to  remain  and 
roll  at  anchor  all  day. 

On  Monday,  December  4th,  we  reached  Zaila,  and 
I  took  reluctant  leave  of  my  pleasant  hosts  of  the 
Minto.  Seen  from  the  sea  the  town  is  the  exact 
counterpart  of  Berbera  and  Bulbar,  and  does  not  smile 
upon  a  traveller.  There  were  again  the  usual 
difficulties  in  landinof,  and  when  the  flat  Somali  boat 
touched  ground  I  was  carried  in  on  a  chair  held  aloft 
in  the  air.  Mr.  Harold  kindly  put  me  up  at  the 
Consulate  during  the  two  days  I  had  to  wait  for  final 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


43 


preparations,  and  he  gave  me  much  interesting 
information  about  Zaila  and  the  SomaH  Coast  Pro- 
tectorate as  well  as  all  sorts  of  useful  help  and  advice 
for  my  journey.  Zaila,  unlike  Berbera,  has  not 
enjoyed  the  advantage  of  -a  conflagration,  and  the 
streets  are  accordingly  as  haphazard  and  irregular  as 
anywhere  in  the  East.  The  fire,  however,  was  only 
very  narrowly  avoided  not  long  ago,  when  several 


ZAILA.     THE  MARKET  SQUARE. 
{Photograph  by  Captain  Powell-Cotton.) 


hundred  Abyssinians  passed  through  on  a  mission  to 
delimitate  the  Italian  frontier.  One  of  them  beguiled 
the  interval  of  waiting  by  drenching  a  cat  with 
petroleum,  setting  light  to  him  and  letting  him  run 
full  tilt  into  the  town  in  his  panic.  Mr.  Harold 
naturally  protested  against  this  barbarity.  He  was 
at  first  met  by  a  blank  denial,  but  when  he  produced 
proofs  there  was  much  blustering  of  indignation,  and 


44 


ABYSSINIA 


the  chief  of  the  Abyssinians  volunteered  to  have  the 
offender's  arm  chopped  off. 

Details  of  administration  in  a  distant  African 
protectorate  may  not  sound  very  exciting  at  the  first 
blush,  but  these  are  moments  of  patriotism,  and  I  feel 
confident  that  every  one  of  my  readers  will  thrill  with 
pride  over  the  wonderful  work  which  is  being  carried 


A  STREET  IN  ZAILA. 


on  among  barbarous  tribesmen  by  a  mere  handful, 
less  than  a  handful,  of  our  countrymen.  The  marvel 
will  be  best  laid  bare  by  a  comparison  of  British 
Somaliland  with  the  pitiful  little  colony  which  dignifies 
itself  with  the  name  of  French  Somaliland.  This 
consists  nominally  of  some  5,000  square  miles,  but 
there  is  no  effective  dominion  for  more  than  a  mile  or 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


47 


two  inland.  Yet.  it  affords  occupation  for  a  whole 
army  of  greedy  French  officials — governors,  prefects, 
judges,  soldiers,  customs'  men,  with  all  their  deputies 
and  subordinates — and  it  costs  the  home  Govern- 
ment no  less  than  400,000  francs  a  year.  We, 
on  the  other  hand,  exercise  a  very  real  and  efficient 
rule  over  a  country  which  is  75  by  80  by  80  by  160 
miles  in  extent,  and  has  two  large  towns,  the  smaller 
with  a  population  of  10,000  souls.  All  this  is  adminis- 
tered by  four  Englishmen,  and  is  quite  self-supporting, 
the  whole  expenses  being  defrayed  without  a  penny- 
worth of  help  from  the  British  exchequer.  Until  a 
few  years  ago  the  Somali  Protectorate  was  under  the 
Indian  Government,  being  ruled  from  Aden,  which  is 
ruled  from  Bombay.  Then,  for  some  reason  which  I 
have  not  been  able  to  appreciate,  the  jurisdiction  was 
transferred  to  the  Foreio^n  Office,  which  seems  not  to 
take  due  interest  and  pride  in  its  acquisition.  The 
change,  however,  has  not  affected  the  administration, 
except  to  alter  the  titles  of  the  officials.  The  Political 
Resident  at  Berbera  is  now  styled  Consul-General, 
and  his  deputy  at  Zaila  has  become  a  Consul — an 
utterly  misleading  nomenclature  in  either  case.  They 
are  really  the  very  efficient  governors  of  an  excellent 
colony,  and  would  probably  find  more  suitable  appre- 
ciation at  the  hands  of  the  Colonial  Office. 

The  efficiency  of  the  administration  may  be  gauged 
by  the  fact  that  it  has  now  been  found  safe  to  with- 
draw the  small  garrison  of  Bombay  Infantry  which 
were  quartered  on  the  Somali  coast.  They  left  for 
good  and  all  on  the  5th  of  March,  and  the  whole 


48 


ABYSSINIA 


district  is  now  protected  by  a  force  nominally  con- 
sisting of  30  Soudanese  and  52  Somali  police,  actually 
some  10  short  of  that  number  at  the  present  moment. 
The  Somalis  are  taking  very  kindly  to  their  con- 
stabulary work,  and  display  much  military  promise. 
This  is  of  course  due  to  the  infinite  pains  and  splendid 
ability  which  have  been  devoted  to  their  training,  and 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  neither  the  French  nor  any  other 
nation  could  have  accomplished  similar  work.  It  is 
amusing  to  hear  the  Somalis  at  drill,  giving  their 
words  of  command  (the  only  English  they  know)  in  a 
strange,  broken  accent,  which  suggests  a  phonograph 
gone  wrong.  But  they  must  not  be  laughed  at,  for 
they  are  evidently  very  proud  of  their  service. 

That  so  large  a  tract  of  country  can  be  governed  so 
cheaply,  so  simply,  and  at  the  same  time  so  efficiently, 
speaks  volumes,  as  Mr.  Harold,  our  Consul  at  Zaila, 
never  tires  of  telling  me,  for  the  good  qualities  of  the 
Somalis.  It  speaks  volumes  also,  as  he  is  too  modest 
to  remark,  for  the  judgment  and  ability  of  their 
administrators.  The  postal  administration  may  seem 
a  small  matter,  but  it  deserves  mention  as  a  successful 
detail.  Indeed,  to  me  it  was  by  no  means  a  detail, 
for  the  monotony  of  my  journey  was  largely  relieved 
by  the  regular  receipt  of  my  mails.  A  postman  on  a 
fast  riding-camel  sets  out  every  week  from  Zaila  and 
Harrar,  covering  the  distance  of  nearly  200  miles 
between  those  places  in  three  and  a  half  days.  The 
service  is  perfectly  safe  and  regular,  and  contrasts 
strikingly  with  the  French  post  between  Jibuti  and 
Harrar,  which  issues  fanciful  stamps  and  voluminous 


BRITISH  SOMALILAXD 


49 


rules  but  is  so  irregular  that  even  the  French  Minister 
to  Abyssinia  prefers  to  avail  himself  of  our  superior 
arrano;ements.  Doubtless  also  he  dreads  the  in- 
quisitiveness  of  the  cabinet  noii\  which  is  part  and 
parcel  of  all  French  administration.  Acting  on  his 
usual  principles,  Mr.  Harold  has  determined  to  make 
the  post  self-supporting,   and  as  much  as    5d.  per 


ZAILA.     THE  BRITISH  POSTMAN. 


half-ounce  has  to  be  paid  for  a  letter  to  Harrar  in 
addition  to  the  ordinary  postage.  \\'orse  still,  several 
camels  died  lately,  and  he  was  obliged  to  double  his 
rates  the  other  day.  Accordingly  I  found  that  I  was 
charged  some  26s.  for  a  parcel  of  three  or  four 
monthly  magazines.  This  seemed  rather  stiff  at  the 
first  blush,  but  the  arrival  of  a  mail  is  so  very  precious 

E 


ABYSSINIA 


in  the  desert  that  no  one  can  grudge  his  quota,  and  I 
was  bound  to  reflect  that  if  I  had  had  to  organise  my 
own  relays  of  messengers  I  should  have  had  to  pay  a 
far  prettier  penny. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  fact  about  the  triumph 
of  our  organisation  is  the  perfect  security  which  has 
been  established  without  bloodshed  or  terrorism  in 
British  Somaliland.  In  another  chapter  I  shall 
describe  the  strange  barbaric  pride  which  your  Somali 
takes  in  the  killing  of  men.  To  check  such  an 
instinct  and  render  a  caravan  route  throuofh  the  desert 
safe  as  Piccadilly,  may  warrant  much  boasting.  Two 
instances  will  suffice  to  exhibit  the  security  of  property 
which  has  been  established.     Not  loner  aero  two  men 

o  o 

sufficed  to  escort  a  sum  of  60.000  silver  dollars  down 
to  the  coast  without  molestation,  though  the  whole 
countryside  must  have  known  the  nature  of  their 
burthen.  Only  once  within  recent  years  has  there 
been  a  complaint  of  serious  robbery,  and  though  that 
took  place  outside  British  jurisdiction,  the  sequel 
proved  most  satisfactory  to  British  prestige.  A 
certain  Russian  complained  that  he  had  been  robbed 
of  a  thousand  dollars  (say  ^100),  which  he  had  care- 
lessly left  under  the  flap  of  his  tent  while  camping  at 
Bia  Kaboba.  Xow  that  place  is  not  in  our  territory, 
but  the  Russian  innuendo,  that  the  money  had  dis- 
appeared when  a  British  postman  was  passing,  put 
Mr.  Harold  on  his  mettle.  He  began  by  pointing 
out  that  on  the  day  in  question  the  postmen  must 
have  been  several  davs'  marches  awav,  and  he  mio-ht 
have  rested  content  with  this  alibi.     But  his  orood- 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


51 


nature  and  his  belief  in  his  organisation  impelled  him 
to  recover  the  money.  He  applied  to  the  tribes,  not 
for  the  surrender,  but  for  the  discovery  of  the  culprit, 
with  whom  they  should  be  left  to  deal  according-  to 
their  own  customs  ;  for  it  is  a  point  of  pride  with  them 
to  detect  and  punish  crime,  but  not  to  deliver  over  a 
criminal  to  the  stranger's  hand.  The  chiefs  took  the 
matter  up  at  once,  and  were  not  long  in  tracing  the 
crime  to  two  discharged  Somalis.  One  had  his  share 
of  500  dollars  still  upon  him,  and  was  made  to  give  it 
up  at  once.  He  had  changed  part  of  it  into  camels, 
but  no  matter,  it  could  be  changed  back  again.  The 
other  had  buried  his  in  small  sums  all  over  the  desert, 
but  stoutly  maintained  his  ignorance  of  the  w^hole 
affair.  So  the  chiefs  tied  him  up  to  a  tree  and  sat  down 
to  wait.  Time  is  not  money  in  the  desert,  so  they 
waited  many  days,  giving  the  man  just  enough,  food 
to  keep  body  and  soul  together.  After  about  a  week 
he  consented  to  indicate  the  locality  of  part  of  his 
hoard.  He  was  taken  to  the  place  and  made  to  dig 
it  up.  Then  he  was  tied  to  another  tree,  and  the 
chiefs  again  awaited  his  pleasure.  In  process  of  time 
he  revealed  all  his  hiding-places,  save  one  where  his 
marks  had  been  destroyed  by  the  elements.  It  was  a 
labour  of  infinite  patience,  and  the  chiefs  had  to  wait 
long  intervals  and  traverse  long  distances  between 
each  revelation,  but  in  the  end  they  contrived  to 
return  all  the  money  save  eleven  dollars,  and  it  was 
satisfactory  to  find  that  they  expected  no  reward  for 
all  their  trouble.  The  honour  of  their  tribe  had  been 
cleared,  and  that  was  sufficient  reward  for  them.  Mr. 


52 


ABYSSINIA 


Harold  is  probably  right  in  saying  that  in  no  other 
country  on  earth  could  money  have  been  recovered  in 
this  way,  and  the  incident  is  very  characteristic  of 
Somali  justice. 

A  visit  to  the  Court  House  at  Zaila  also  affords  an 
instructive  picture  of  the  Somali  character,  and  helps 
to  explain  the  causes  of  the  success  of  our  colonial 
empire.  A  Frenchman  (to  take  the  extreme  contrast) 
attempts  to  govern  natives  according  to  European 
methods,  and  the  only  result  is  to  irritate  and  perplex 
them.  An  Englishman  adapts  his  code  to  the  better 
side  of  native  tradition  ;  his  subjects  find  that  he  treats 
them  firmly  and  honourably,  yet  at  the  same  time  in  a 
way  which  their  hereditary  instincts  teach  them  to 
consider  reasonable.  The  thing  requires  the  patience 
of  many  saints,  but  this  patience  is  amply  rewarded. 
Coming  into  the  Court  House  any  morning,  you  find 
surging  crowds  of  natives — -men,  women,  and  children 
— all  w^aiting  to  enjoy  a  field-day  at  the  expense  of  the 
English  Governor.  Every  Somali  is  a  born  litigant, 
and  as  there  are  no  costs  under  the  British  Protectorate, 
he  seizes  every  possible  pretext  to  come  into  court. 
Where  else  in  the  world  could  you  find  such  an 
institution  as  free  justice  ?  Where  else  would  it  not 
be  dismissed  as  an  hopelessly  Utopian  chimerical 
idea  ? 

Mr.  Harold  takes  his  seat  upon  the  Bench,  and  the 
first  case  is  called  on.  With  so  many  litigants  waiting 
to  be  heard,  it  is  natural  that  he  should  wish  to  arrive 
at  summary  settlements.  But  who  shall  presume  to 
try  to  hustle  the  East  ?    A  Somali,  above  all  others. 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND  53 

may  not  be  hurried,  for  he  is  convinced  that  you  can- 
not possibly  understand  him  unless  he  repeats  himself 
at  least  a  dozen  times.  Here  is  a  typical  case.  An 
old  woman  steps  forward  and  says  laconically,  I 

want  "    Then  she  pauses  to  see  if  she  has  really 

been  heard,  and  she  looks  round  the  court  to  air  her 
vanity. 

Mr.  Harold  [suave l)^  :  "  Well,  what  do  you  want  ?  " 

Old  Woman  {emphatically^  :  "I  want  " 

Mr.  Harold  [pleadingly')  :  "  Yes,  what  is  it  you 
want " 

Old  Wo^L\N  (as  though  addressing  a  very  stnpid 
person)  :  "I  want  " 

Mr.  Harold  [resignedlyi)  :  "I  am  waiting  to  hear 
what  you  want." 

Old  Woman  [moitotononsly)  :  "I  w^ant  -" 

Mr.  Harold  :  Well?" 

Old  Woman  \     \  want  " 

Mr.  Harold  :     ?        ?        ?    ? " 

Old  Woman  :  "  I  want  justice." 

Mr.  Harold  :  "  Tell  me  your  grievance  as  quickly 
as  you  can.    There  are  many  others  w^aiting." 

Old  Woman  [stolidly) :  "  I  want  justice." 

This  phrase  she  repeats  at  least  six  times,  and  then 
at  last,  with  infinite  circumlocution,  she  proceeds  to 
tell  her  tale. 

Old  Woman  [several  times)  :  "I  was  sitting  under 
a  tree  in  the  desert." 

Mr.  Harold  :  "  You  have  said  that  before.  Tell 
me  what  happened." 

Old  Woman  [several  times  more,  with  satisfied 


54 


ABYSSINIA 


pauses  in  behueeii)  :  ''I  was  sitting  under  a  tree  in  the 
desert." 

Mr.  Harold  [at  last)  :  "If  you  don't  proceed  I 
shall  have  to  call  the  next  case." 

Old  Woman  [several  times)  :  ''It  was  a  very  large 
tree. 

This  is  followed  by  all  sorts  of  irrelevant  details, 
each  extracted  very  laboriously  and  repeated  so  often 
that  even  the  Sonialis  begin  to  manifest  impatience. 
At  last  the  old  woman  blurts  out  suddenly,  in  the  same 
monotonous  tones  with  w^hich  she  has  related  incon- 
gruous facts  about  the  desert  or  trees  or  shade  or 
water,  "  Some  men  came  and  stole  all  my  camels." 
Now^  we  have  something  to  go  upon,  and  in  the  course 
of  an  hour  or  so  we  shall  extort  other  salient  facts, 
who  carried  off  the  camels,  how  many  there  were,  and 
so  forth.  Presentl}^  Mr.  Harold  chances  to  ask, 
When  did  all  this  happen  ?  "  and  the  old  woman 
answers  in  the  most  matter-of-fact  way,  "About  four- 
teen years  ago." 

Why  did  she  wait  all  this  while  to  make  her  com- 
plaint }  Not  for  a  moment  is  she  at  a  loss  for  an 
answer— no  Somali  ever  is.  She  has  had  other 
concerns,  she  has  been  travelling  about  in  various 
parts  of  the  interior,  and  after  all  she  did  not  suppose 
there  was  any  reason  for  immediate  action.  Anyhow, 
she  has  now  come  to  demand  restitution.  The 
defendant  is  called,  admits  the  facts,  and  expresses  his 
willingness  to  restore  such  camels  as  may  still  survive  ; 
but  these  are  not  many.  The  old  woman  is,  however, 
quite  ready  for  him  there.    She  has  at  her  fingers' 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


55 


ends  the  whole  history  and  genealogy  of  all  the  camels 
during  all  the  years  which  have  elapsed  since  she  lost 
them.  The  white  female  camel  with  the  black  spot  on 
its  back  has  had  twelve  young,  eight  of  which  are  still 
alive  ;  so  many  were  males  and  so  many  were  females, 
and  their  offspring  was  such  and  such  a  number.  The 
dark  brindled  camel  had  so  many  children,  and  so 
many  grandchildren  :  it  is  all  as  pat  as  a  chapter  in  the 
Old  Testament.  The  defendant  retorts  with  minute 
accounts  of  his  expenditure  upon  each  and  every  stolen 
camel  and  its  children  and  children's  children.  The 
narrative  is  endless,  for  if  there  is  one  trait  more 
acutely  developed  in  your  Somali  than  his  sense  of 
humour,  it  is  his  astounding  memory.  I  am  told  that 
this  is  very  common  among  people  who  cannot  read 
and  write,  but  even  so  I  believe  the  Somali  is  un- 
rivalled. The  case  is  one  for  a  typical  Kadi,  and  Mr. 
Harold  must  have  recourse  to  the  methods  of  the 
Kadi,  but  somehow  or  other  he  contrives  to  o-ive  satis- 
faction  in  this  and  a  hundred  other  equally  perplexing 
cases.  Very  often  the  plaintiff  and  defendant  make 
absolutely  contradictory  statements,  and  there  seems 
no  possibility  of  ascertaining  which  is  lying.  One  of 
the  litigants  has  been  vehemently  positive  in  his  cir- 
cumstantial assertions,  until  he  is  suddenly  asked  if  he 
will  swear  to  his  story.  "  Oh  !  no,  I  will  not  do  that," 
he  replies  quite  naturally,  and  the  case  is  given  against 
him.  Another  time,  a  man  is  quite  ready  to  give  all 
the  ordinary  oaths,  but  resolutely  refuses  to  swear  by 
the  tomb  of  some  particularly  holy  sheikh.  Or  again 
the  judge  must  rely  upon  some  slight  indication  ;  a 


56 


ABYSSINIA 


nudg-e  or  a  wink  exchanged  between  witnesses,  for 
instance,  may  suffice  to  decide  a  case. 

All  this  is  inordinately  hard  work  at  the  best  of 
times,  but  in  the  hot  weather  it  taxes  a  man's  strength 
almost  beyond  human  endurance.  Already  in  the 
middle  of  March  this  year,  the  heat,  I  am  told,  was 
terrible.  At  nio^ht  there  seemed  to  be  no  air — the 
atmosphere  was  still,  muggy,  close,  stuffy,  as  if  a  tre- 
mendous storm  were  instantly  imminent,  and  there  was 
consequently  no  sleep  to  be  had.  After  7  a.m.  the  sun 
was  so  scorching  that  it  became  risky  for  a  white  man 
to  venture  out ;  and  indoors,  with  the  blinds  down,  the 
thermometer  stood  at  107°.  At  5.30  or  6  p.m.  a  stroll 
was  possible,  but  by  nine  the  breeze  would  drop  and  the 
terrible  night  had  to  be  faced  once  more.  The  position 
of  Governor  of  Berbera  or  Zaila  is  certainly  not  one 
to  be  envied  in  the  hot  w^eather.  He  has  no  com- 
panion but  his  black  servants  and  the  Somalis  ; 
travellers  have  ceased  to  pass  through,  and  he  will 
not  see  another  white  man  until  the  autumn  shall 
come  round  again.  It  is  indeed  wonderful  what  an 
Englishman  will  endure  and  accomplish  in  the 
execution  of  his  duty,  and  we  may  well  exclaim 
that  the  heroes  of  the  kopjes  and  the  battlefields 
are  not  the  only  heroes  among  the  many  who  con- 
tribute, each  in  his  sphere,  towards  the  building  up 
of  our  empire.  The  work  which  Colonel  Sadler 
and  Mr.  Harold  are  carrying  on  at  Berbera  and 
Zaila,  quietly,  unassumingly,  and  at  the  same  time 
so  successfully,  almost  reconciles  me  to  the  intrusion 
of  civilisation  in  Africa. 


BRITISH  SOMALILAXD 


57 


"  I  dive  !    I  dive  !  " 

For  an  hour  or  so  we  of  the  good  ship  Caledonia 
had  been  straining-  our  eyes  to  take  stock  of  the  strong- 
hold of  Aden.  The  loner  vovas^e  was  drawino-  to  a 
close,  and  we  wxre  putting  finishing  touches  to  short- 
lived acquaintances.  We  became  suddenly  aware  of 
a  small  fleet  of  flat-bottomed  boats  hovering  feverishly 
around. 

"  I  dive  !    I  dive  !  " 

Ten  days  unrelieved  by  incidents  had  made  us 
sino'ularlv  alert,  and  we  hurried  to  the  sides  in  obedi- 
ence  to  this  penetrating  call. 

The  first  impression  of  Somalis  was  very  far 
from  encouraoinof.  We  were  instinctivelv  reminded 
of  Dore's  illustrations  of  the  Inferno,  for  the  boats 
teemed  with  naked  youths,  so  naked  that  they  wore 
not  even  a  single  hair  upon  their  skinny,  jet-black 
bodies  ;  and  the  long  bald  heads,  with  popping  wall- 
eyes and  long,  projecting  ears,  completed  so  saturnine 
an  effect  that  we  might  be  approaching  Charon's 
ferry. 

I  dive  !    I  dive  I  " 

God  bless  my  soul,  but  they  do  dive  !  Copper  coins 
they  scorn,  and  you  may  cast  into  the  water  anything 
from  slender  pice  to  a  big  brown  penny  without 
evoking  more  than  a  contemptuous  grin.  You  might 
as  hopefully  throw  bread  to  a  dog  who  performs  for  no 
less  guerdon  than  a  sweet  biscuit.  But  toss  out  any 
silver  money,  down  to  a  sixpence  or  even  the  humble 
two-anna  piece,  and  in  a  trice  a  black  devil  whistles 
through  the  air,  shoots  into  the  sea,  emerges  in  no 


58 


ABYSSINIA 


time  with  his  trophy,  and  clamours  breathlessly  for 
fresh  ordeals  :     \  dive  !    I  dive  I    I  dive  !  " 

Sharks  abound  here,  ravening,  they  also,  after  their 
prey,  and  the  spectacle  appeals  to  that  instinct  which 
renders  dangerous  exploits  a  delight  to  witness  from  a 
safe  distance.  Some  time  ago  a  young  diver  had  his 
head  bitten  off.  Quite  recently  another  was  dragged 
right  under  the  keel  of  a  ship  and  only  escaped  with 
the  loss  of  his  two  le^rs,  leavina-  a  thin  red  line  of  blood 
behind  him  in  the  sea.  One  of  the  little  fellows  has 
only  one  arm,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  sharks  have 
taken  the  other,  so  the  coins  shower  thickest  around 
him.  But  I  begin  to  wonder  whether  it  is  not  a 
mistaken  kindness. 

The  Somalis  certainly  improve  on  closer  acquaint- 
ance. To  begin  with,  they  enjo\'  a  chronic,  im- 
perturbable good-humour  ;  there  is  always  a  cheery 
grin  upon  their  otherwise  satanical  countenances. 
Nor  have  they  the  gross,  bestial  appearance  of  the 
ordinary  negro,  with  his  thick  lips  and  woolly  hair. 
Save  for  the  deep  darkness  of  their  skins  and  the 
scantiness  of  their  raiment,  they  might  pass  for 
Europeans  of  some  refinement.  It  must  be  a 
primaeval  sense  of  decency  which  prompts  them  to 
pluck  their  armpits  and  scar  their  backs  to  eradicate 
every  vestige  of  down.  On  the  march  they  devote 
every  spare  instant  to  removing  hairs  and  brushing 
their  glistening  teeth.  A  few  do  not  shave  their  heads, 
but  wear  thick  matted  hair  some  six  or  eio-ht  inches 
long,  giving  them  the  appearance  of  the  domestic 
Turk's  head.     But  if  the  hair  is  allowed  to  grow,  it  is 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


59 


only  on  condition  that  it  shall  change  its  colour.  From 
Aden  right  away  into  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  desert 
you  may  meet  men  with  a  thick  grey  scab  of  lime 
spread  all  over  their  scalps.  At  first  you  are  inclined 
to  mistake  it  for  evidence  of  some  horrible  disease. 
Presently  you  perceive  the  effects.  Here  is  a  fellow 
with  a  maroon  mat  of  hair,  yonder  struts  another  be- 
neath a  bleached  shock  like  a  bobtailed  wig  without 
the  bobtail.  I  vow  he  wears  powder.  "  No,  sah'b," 
says  Abdi  laconically,  "  fat."  There  may  be  fat,  but 
I  still  believe  lime  is  the  principal  ingredient. 

A  few  hasty  facts,  to  be  skipped  by  those  who 
are  less  serious  than  myself.  The  Somalis  occupy 
the  north-east  corner  of  Africa,  say  from  Bab-el- 
Mandeb,  the  oate  of  the  Red  Sea,  to  the  vao^ue 
regions  below  Cape  Guardafui.  No  one  knows  where 
they  came  from,  the  best  guess  being  from  an  Arab 
stock,  though  the  Somali  language  differs  essentially 
from  Arabic.  Somalis  come  to  Aden,  but  only  to 
acquire  wealth  and  wives  and  experience.  Directly 
they  have  found  all  they  want  they  return  to  their 
own  grey  land.  In  this  and  in  so  many  other  respects 
they  have  struck  me  as  the  Irish  of  Africa.  They 
are  always  on  the  grin,  they  possess  an  enormous 
sense  of  humour  and  a  very  lively  imagination,  they 
are  extraordinarily  considerate  and  obliging,  in  fact 
they  will  never  stick  at  any  lie  provided  it  will  please 
you  for  the  moment.  Ask  them  a  distance  when  you 
are  tired  and  they  will  always  halve  it  ;  find  them  out 
and  grow  cross  presently  and  they  are  sure  to  be 
ready  with  a  merry  quip  or  soothing  sympathy.  I 


6o 


ABYSSINIA 


believe  the  Blarney  stone  must  originally  have  come 
from  some  waterless  desert  in  the  direction  of  Ogaden. 
No  one  can  help  liking  the  Somalis,  yet  no  one  can 
close  both  eyes  to  their  shortcomings.  They  are 
garrulous  humbugs  and  windbags.  They  have  no 
manners,  they  make  rude  noises  with  their  mouths, 
they  laugh  in  a  way  that  makes  you  long  to  kick 
them,  yet  you  never  can  be  angry  with  them  long. 
Gratitude  is  unknown  to  them  ;  the  word  thanks 
does  not  exist  in  their  language.  They  are  insatiably 
greedy  of  money,  yet  at  the  same  time  reckless  spend- 
thrifts. They  possess  the  unusual  combination  of 
vanity  and  pride.  A  coloured  blazer  with  bright 
buttons  makes  a  peacock  of  the  best,  yet  he  never 
loses  his  dignity.  Nowhere  have  I  met  any  human 
beings  so  sensitive  to  blame  or  sneer.  Theirs  is  a 
very  high-strung  nature.  They  are  hopeless  cowards 
about  facinor  a  remote  danorer.  See  how  thev  run 
across  a  desert  where  rumour  points  to  possible 
ambuscades  !  Yet  on  a  sudden  emergency  they  will 
display  plenty  of  spirit.  Like  the  Irish,  they  are 
always  spoiling  for  a  fight  ;  in  lieu  of  shillelaghs  they 
always  carry  their  spears. 

I  am  sure  they  could  never  found  a  Somali  state. 
They  are  too  volatile  and  irresponsible.  But  they  are 
intensely  amenable  to  strict  discipline,  and  a  Parnell 
or  a  Mahdi  could  do  what  he  pleased  with  them. 
They  have  certainly  made  excellent  soldiers  whenever 
the  experiment  has  been  tried,  and  I  am  told  that 
at  Aden  they  have  proved  superlative  detectives. 
This  I  can  well  believe,  for  I   observed  that  craft 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


6i 


and  curiosity  were  highly  developed  in  their  character. 
They  are  naturally  lazy,  and  at  home  make  their 
women  do  most  of  the  work,  yet  for  an  object  they 
will  rarely  spare  themselves.  At  Aden  they  work 
very  hard,  and  put  up  with  a  great  deal  until 
they  have  acquired  enough  fortune  to  secure  them 
power  and  influence  in  their  own  country.  What 
they  covet  most  of  all  is  to  be  taken  into  Africa  by  an 
European  traveller.  They  enjoy  the  journey  through 
Somaliland,  particularly  if  they  are  among  their 
own  tribesmen,  but  they  detest  the  cold  and  wet, 
the  racial  and  religious  animosity,  the  gloom  and  the 
hardships  which  confront  them  in  Abyssinia.  Yet 
they  reflect  that  they  have  no  temptation  or  oppor- 
tunity to  spend  money,  and  that  when  they  return 
they  will  be  possessors  of  a  fine  little  nest-egg,  which 
must  raise  their  social  status  considerably.  On  the 
march  their  one  idea  is  to  please  you  so  that  you  may 
pay  them  well  and  give  them  good  chits  "  when  you 
return.  If  you  are  easy-going,  they  will  take  every 
advantage  ;  if  you  are  severe,  they  will  very  quickly 
take  the  measure  of  your  severity  and  do  just  as  much 
work  as  will  keep  you  satisfied— not  a  jot  more. 

The  worst  point  about  them  is  their  tendency  to 
regard  murder  as  a  sport.  During  my  passage  through 
the  desert  I  noticed  numerous  cairns  from  time  to 
time.  They  consisted  of  a  kind  of  stone  altar  sur- 
rounded at  a  respectful  distance  by  a  stone  wall,  either 
circular  or  square.  Outside  this  were  a  number  of 
upright  slabs,  like  milestones,  some  of  which  w^ere 
surmounted  with  lumps  of  quartz.    At  first  I  thought 


62 


ABYSSINIA 


all  this  must  have  some  religious  significance,  but 
eventually  I  learned  that  here  were  the  tombs  of 
Somali  braves,  each  slab  recording  a  murder  and 
the  quartz  intimating  that  a  man  had  been  killed  with 
his  steed.  I  did  not  approve  of  the  desecration  of 
the  Mahdi's  tomb,  but  I  venture  to  submit  that  the 
Government  might  do  well  to  raze  these  mausoleums  of 
murder.  One  day  we  passed  a  number  of  young  men, 
who  strutted  about  as  though  hugely  proud  of  them- 
selves. '  They  carried  spears  longer  than  those  of  the 
usual  Somalis,  their  hair  projected  in  thick  wig-like 
mats,  and  some  of  them — those,  I  learned,  who  had 
slain  many  men — -wore  feathery  tufts  on  the  top  of 
their  heads. 

One  of  the  braves  was  pointed  out  to  me  with  pride 
by  the  Pilgrim,  who  remarked,  "  He  kill  plenty  men." 
The  brave  saw  he  was  being  noticed  and  came  up 
to  show  himself  off.  He  looked  very  young  and  wore 
a  very  self-conscious  smile  as  he  exhibited  a  horse's 
tail  which  was  attached  to  his  shield  as  the  trophy 
of  a  murder.  He  also  drew  my  attention  to  three 
brass  bands  on  his  spear. 

Three  men  he  killed,"  the  Pilgrim  explained 
cheerfully. 

"  How  did  he  kill  them  ?    In  batde  ?  " 

"  No,  no.     He  kill  them  any  way  he  can." 

I  noticed  that  one  of  the  brass  bands  was  double 
the  thickness  of  the  others,  so  I  asked  why. 
He  kill  that  man,  very  big  man,  sah'b." 

I  asked  how  many  more  men  this  precocious 
youngster  intended  to  kill.     The  question  seemed 


BRITISH  SOMALILAND 


63 


to  arouse  a  good  deal  of  interest,  and  there  was  a 
buzz  of  expectation  before  he  repHed.  His  face 
gleamed  with  pleasure  and  conceit,  like  that  of  a 
cricketer  going  over  his  batting  averages.  At  last 
the  answer  was  transmitted  :  "He  hope  at  least 
twenty,  thirty,  sah'b.    As  many  he  can." 

Afterwards  I  felt  a  little  uncomfortable  to  reflect 
that  I  had  shaken  hands  with  a  murderer. 


Chapter  IV 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 

Loading  Camels — Engaging  a  Caravan — -The  Plunge — Passive  Re- 
sistance— Somali  Humour— A  Grand  Palaver^ — ^The  Pilgrim's 
Progress — The  Freedom  of  the  Desert — The  Monotony  of 
the  March — The  Desert  Described — Gildessa — A  Barbaric 
Dance — A  Pagan  Love-rite. 

I  WAS  awakened  early  on  the  morning  of  the  6th 
of  December,  1899,  by  a  great  hubbub  outside  the 
Consulate  at  Zaila.  It  sounded  as  though  a  free 
fight  were  in  progress.  There  were  loud  war-whoops 
accompanied  by  a  hoarse  rumbling  chorus  of  dis- 
content. The  war-whoops  resolved  themselves  into 
broad  Scots,  and  I  would  have  wagered  that  I  dis- 
tinguished importunate  outcries  of  "  Whaur  air  ma 
boots.'*"  ''Whaur  air  ma  breeks  "  I  rubbed  my 
eyes  and  wondered  whether  a  magical  carpet  had 
wafted  me  to  the  Kyles  of  Bute,  or  whether  a  High- 
land regiment  had  suddenly  landed  upon  the  Somali 
coast.  Yet  all  the  yelling  was  punctuated  by  that 
particularly  silly  noise,  which  is  exclusively  associated 
with  the  expression  of  a  camel's  feelings.  I  wrapped 
a  sheet  around  me  and  made  my  way  out  on  to  the 
verandah.  The  sight  which  I  beheld  served  to 
warrant  the  worst  alarms.    A  dense  mob  of  angry 

blacks — very  angry  blacks — was  howling  with  rage, 

64 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  IJONS 


65 


gesticulating,  hustling,  and  even  brandishing  long 
spears.  W^orst  of  all,  it  was  my  baggage  that  had 
provoked  all  this  fury.  Certain  packages  were  being 
scrambled  for  like  oranges,  others  were  being  thrown 
about  like  cricket  balls.  But  the  Mad  Mullah  had 
not  swooped  down  upon  Zaila.  This  was  only  the 
usual  every-day  preliminary  to  the  departure  of  a 
caravan.  The  cries  which  I  had  mistaken  for  Scots 
were  merely  the  favourite  Somali  w^ord  ''Wariya!" 
(I  say,  Hallo),  with  which  every  sentence  invariably 
opens.  As  for  the  spears,  a  Somali  w^ould  no  more 
think  of  walkintr  out  without  them  than  a  German 
officer  of  leaving  his  spurs  at  home.  As  for  the 
wrath,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Irish  of  Africa 
are  accustomed  to  express  every  emotion  far  more 
emphatically  than  they  really  mean. 

A  w^ord  of  explanation  must  now  be  pardoned.  To 
engage  a  caravan  you  bargain  with  an  abane,  or 
contractor.  He  surveys  your  chattels  and  proposes 
a  price  per  load,  by  which  he  means  per  pair  of 
camels.  His  favourite  chattels  are  soft  bales  ;  he 
dislikes  hard  boxes  ;  cases  of  cartridges  he  positively 
detests.  And  these  sentiments  affect  the  cost  of  your 
journey  considerably.  You  agree  upon  a  price,  and 
then  your  troubles  begin.  He  w^ill  try  to  make  you 
engage  far  more  camels  than  you  need.  He  will 
return  again  and  again  with  all  sorts  of  extra  demands 
for  fees  for  himself  and  for  extra  pay  in  order  to  travel 
extra  fast.  The  camels  do  not  belonor  to  him  but  to  a 
number  of  men,  each  owning  two  or  three  or  four. 
These  men  go  with  you  ;  the  abane  does  not,  but 

F 


66 


ABYSSINIA 


he  sets  over  them  the  richest  or  most  influential.  At 
the  best  this  individual  has  very  litde  authority  over 
his  fellows,  and  you  must  always  be  prepared  to  fight 
your  own  battles.  In  doing  so  you  must  be  very  firm, 
but  you  must  also  exercise  tact,  extraordinary  tact,  for 
your  Somali  has  all  the  pride  of  a  Highland  laird. 
If  you  injure  his  dignity,  you  may  find  one  fine 
morning  that  he  has  decamped  with  all  his  camels. 


LOADING  A  CAMEL. 
(Photograph  by  CAPTAIN  POWELL-COTTOX.) 


leaving  the  precise  amount  of  your  advance  money 
in  IMaria  Theresa  dollars  at  your  tent  door.  This 
would  not  be  disastrous,  but  it  would  be  a  nuisance. 
You  would  have  to  send  one  of  your  servants  to  the 
coast  and  wait  till  fresh  camels  could  arrive.  Mean- 
while you  would  amuse  yourself  with  shooting. 

The  result  of  different  camels  belonoinof  to  different 
men  is  that  each  man  wants  to  single  out  the  softest 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  67 

loads.  However,  after  a  crreat  deal  of  wranorlinor 
which  amuses  a  Somali  as  much  as  it  does  an  Irish- 
man, the  troubles  are  composed.  You  are  implored 
to  take  four  more  camels,  you  compromise  with 
tw^o,  the  loads  are  adjusted  and  the  caravan  sets 
out  with  a  great  parade  of  leisurely  dignity. 
The  work  of  loading  is  rather  artistic,  or  at  the 
least  ingenious.    First  a  number  of  very  hairy  mats 


CAMEL-MATS  U^J-JJ  AS  TEMS. 

{Photograph  by  Captain  Powell-Cotton.) 


are  placed  upon  the  beast's  back.  Then  cross-poles 
are  rudely  attached,  and  to  these  your  luggage  is 
lashed.  When  camping-time  comes  the  mats  and 
poles  are  turned  into  rudimentary  tents  for  the  camel- 
men.  ^ 

To  return  to  the  wrangle.  It  seemed  to  have  no 
end.  I  took  my  tub,  I  dressed,  I  broke  my  fast,  still 
all  morn  lonof  the  noise  of  battle  raoed.   It  never  orew 


68 


ABYSSINIA 


worse  and  it  never  grew  better.  Whenever  I  peered 
out  to  look,  I  beheld  the  same  tug- of- war  over  my 
boxes,  the  same  angry  black  faces,  the  same  quivering 
spears.  At  last  the  storm  seemed  to  abate  a  little, 
there  was  merely  a  ground-swell  of  irritation,  and  I 
found  the  process  of  loading  had  begun.  First  the 
mats  were  swung  up,  then  the  poles  were  placed  over 
them,  and  as  the  boxes  were  affixed  the  plaint  of  the 
camels  rose  above  the  protests  of  the  men.  For  a 
long  time  I  could  not  decide  what  it  was  that  this 
ridiculous  jeremiad  recalled.  Then  all  at  once  I  re- 
membered :  it  was  the  operation  of  gargling  magnified 
an  hundredfold.  Guggle-guggle-guggle-guggle-guggle- 
wahrrrrrr !    Such  is  the  impatient  camel's  speech. 

The  last  knot  is  tied  and  the  beast  must  arise.  Its 
keeper  slaps  it  on  the  knee  and  looks  round  like  a 
conjuror  about  to  perform  a  trick.  The  unwieldy  mass 
surges  and  shoots  itself  up  into  the  air.  Will  it 
acquiesce,  or  will  it  remember  proverbial  privileges 
about  the  last  straw  ?  It  is  a  deliberate  beast,  and 
takes  some  time  to  make  up  its  mind.  Then  it  either 
runs  amok,  tries  to  rub  off  its  burthen,  rolls  recklessly 
in  the  sand,  bolts,  clatters  tin  pans,  swings  its  load 
beneath  its  belly,  and  generally  makes  a  fool  of  itself ; 
or  else  it  submits  to  be  tied  up  in  file,  still  grumbling 
and  grudging,  for  it  can  never  be  satisfied. 

Those  files  of  camels  :  they  are  my  liveliest  re- 
collection of  the  desert,  the  chief  characteristic  of  a 
caravan.  A  string  round  the  nose  of  each  attaches 
it  to  the  tail  of  its  predecessor,  yet  it  perceives  no 
humiliation,  but  stalks  forward  with  infinitely  majestic 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 


69 


gait,  staring  superciliously  to  right  and  left  with  head 
high  in  air.  To  watch  this  hour  after  hour  you  would 
vow  that  even  a  pack  of  wolves  in  red-hot  pursuit 
could  never  discompose  such  sublime  equanimity. 
Yet  presently  the  sudden  opening  of  an  umbrella  or 
the  swervinor  of  a  mule  w^ill  set  the  whole  file  in  a 
panic. 

As  for  the  evil  faces  of  the  camelmen,  they  turned 
out  to  mean  little  more  than  a  display  of  petulance  at 
the  outset.  Once  away,  the  fellows  were  always  very 
respectful,  but  I  felt  all  the  time  that  I  must  be  upon 
my  guard,  that  they  were  trying  it  on. 

They  began  to  try  it  on  at  my  first  encampment. 
Scarcely  had  I  finished  my  meal  and  lit  my  cigarette 
before  Abdi  introduced  a  deputation.  The  camelmen 
had  no  food  or  money  for  the  journey !  I  had,  how- 
ever, been  warned  to  expect  this  demand  and  refuse 
it,  so  I  pointed  out  suavely  that  I  had  paid  all  my  dues 
to  the  abane  at  Zaila.  Yes,  but  he  had  taken  every- 
thing and  had  made  no  provision  for  them.  In  that 
case,  I  replied,  some  one  had  better  be  sent  back  to 
bring  on  provisions  after  them.  If  they  went  well  I 
would  give  them  a  sheep  when  we  had  crossed  the  two 
days'  waterless  desert,  and  they  should  have  backshish 
when  I  parted  from  them  at  Gildessa.  If  they  gave 
me  trouble,  they  should  not  have  another  anna,  no, 
nor  so  much  as  the  gizzard  of  a  twopenny  chicken. 
They  saw  that  I  knew,  so  they  acquiesced  at  once, 
and  went  off  vowino-  that  I  was  their  father  and 
mother. 

Starting  off  into  the  unknown  desert  was  just  like 


70 


ABYSSINIA 


jumping  off  a  plank  into  a  very  cold  swimming-bath. 
I  put  off  the  evil  moment  again  and  again.  I  dallied 
over  each  mouthful  all  through  my  last  civilised  lunch. 
I  prolonged  each  puff  of  my  cigar  as  I  lolled  for 
the  last  time  in  a  really  luxurious  armchair.  By 
way  of  cheering  me  up,  Mr.  Harold,  who  has  a 
keen  sense  of  humour,  related  all  sorts  of  misadven- 
tures, which  had  befallen  travellers  in  the  waterless 
desert  which  I  was  to  enter  next  day.  ''A  young 
Belgian  came  here  not  so  very  long  ago  full  of  delight 
over  the  prospect  of  his  expedition.  He  sat  just 
where  you  are  sitting  now;  I  thought  he  was  a  bit 
confident  and  I  told  him  so,  but  he  was  young  and 
would  not  listen  to  advice.  Well,  he  started  off,  just 
as  you  are  going  to  do,  in  the  afternoon  for  Warabot, 
where  the  desert  begins,  ten  miles  away.  He  camped 
there  and  went  on  at  about  three  o'clock  next  morning 
for  Ma'anda,  the  big  hill  which  stands  out  as  the  one 
landmark  half-way  across  the  desert.  He  plodded 
straight  on  for  eisfht  hours,  the  sun  ofrew  hotter  and 
hotter,  and  directly  the  camp  had  been  pitched  all  the 
men  flunof  themselves  down  on  the  orround  and  fell 
asleep.  When  they  awoke  in  the  afternoon  they 
found  to  their  amazement  that  their  master  had  dis- 
appeared. At  first  they  could  scarcely  believe  it, 
and  asked  each  other  whether  the  Jinn  had  carried 
him  off.  They  proceeded  to  search  for  him  in  every 
direction,  but  there  was  never  a  trace  to  be  found  any- 
where. All  night  they  searched  and  a  greater  part  of 
next  day,  though  a  dust  storm  arose  so  blinding  that 
it  was  impossible  to  see  two  yards  ahead.    At  last 


THROUGH  THE  LAXD  OF  LIONS 


they  remembered  how  Httle  water  they  had  with  them, 
and  they  agreed  that  they  must  push  on  to  save  their 
own  Hves.  As  it  was,  they  very  nearly  failed  to  reach 
the  other  side  of  the  waterless  desert  at  Hensa. 
Several  of  them  were  so  much  overcome  by  thirst 
that  they  had  to  lie  down  gasping  in  the  sand  till 
water  could  be  brouoht  to  them.  Havino^  refreshed 
themselves  and  refilled  their  barrels,  they  toiled  back 
and  made  fresh  search  ;  they  came  and  reported  to 
me,  and  I  instituted  a  regular  systematic  hunt,  but  all 
in  vain.  The  young  Belgian  had  been  as  completely 
swallowed  up  by  the  desert  as  he  might  have  been  by 
the  sea." 

"  Then  you  have  no  idea  what  happened  to  him  ?  " 

''Wait  a  bit.  I  am  comino-  to  that.  Several  months 
later  the  rainy  season  arrived  and  nomadic  tribes 
began  to  come  down  to  the  plains,  spreading  like  a 
flood  over  the  face  of  the  desert,  now  no  longer  water- 
less. And  presently  a  gruesome  discovery  was  reported 
to  me,  I  rode  out  and  found  under  a  mimosa  shrub  a 
skull  and  a  few  bones,  a  rifle  and  a  few  shreds  of  cloth. 
This  was  all  that  remained  of  the  Belgian.  Jackals 
and  hyenas  had  accounted  for  everything  else.  He 
must  have  seen  some  game  and  imprudently  started  off 
after  it  alone.  Still  more  imprudently,  he  wore  nothing 
on  his  head  but  a  cloth  cap,  and  nothing  on  his  back 
but  a  thin  jersey.  He  must  have  had  a  sunstroke  and 
taken  refuge  under  the  nearest  shrub.  No  help  came, 
and  presently  he  died.  No  help  could  come  in  time, 
for  he  had  wandered  at  least  five  miles  from  his  camp. 
That,  I  am  convinced,  is  the  only  possible  explanation. 


72 


ABYSSINIA 


If  he  had  been  attacked  by  Somalis,  they  would 
certainly  not  have  left  his  rifle." 

"  But  do  Somalis  ever  attack  people?  " 

There  was  a  curious  twinkle  in  the  Consul's  eye. 
As  I  have  already  stated,  he  has  a  keen  sense  of 
humour.  "They  will  not  attack  a  caravan,"  he  replied, 
as  if  making  a  reluctant  concession,  "  but  it  is  con- 
sidered an  exploit  among  them  to  kill  a  man.  It  does 
not  matter  much  what  sort  of  man  he  may  be,  though 
of  course  the  killing  of  a  white  man  would  be  regarded 
as  a  greater  exploit  than  that  of  a  black.  For  each 
man  a  Somali  kills  he  is  entitled  to  wear  one  brass 
ring  on  his  spear.  Indeed  it  need  not  even  be  a  man. 
I  heard  of  a  Somali  spearing  a  woman  in  the  hope 
that  her  unborn  child  would  be  a  male  and  thereby 
entitle  him  to  another  brass  rino-.  There  was  an 
unfortunate  Indian  not  lono-  aero.  He  came  down 
with  a  caravan  and  got  knocked  up  when  he  was  very 
near  the  coast.  As  the  distance  remainincr  was  so 
small,  he  bade  the  others  o-q  on,  and,  when  he  had 
rested,  he  plodded  forward  alone.  As  he  had  scarcely 
an  anna  to  bless  himself  w^ith,  one  would  imagine  that 
he,  if  any  one,  was  perfectly  safe  from  attack.  But  a 
Somali,  seeing  a  feeble  old  man  trudging  through  the 
desert  alone,  seized  the  opportunity  to  run  up  and 
spear  him.  I  believe  I  have  got  the  murderer  in  gaol 
now,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  bring  it  home  con- 
clusively to  him  yet.  Some  women  saw  the  Indian 
followed  and  speared,  but  they  cannot  say  for  certain 
whether  my  prisoner  was  the  culprit." 

The  hands  of  the  clock  were  moving  faster  than 


THROUGH  THE  LAXD  OF  LIOXS 


73 


I  liked,  and  it  was  clear  that  I  must  be  off  if  I  wished 
to  reach  camp  in  time  for  dinner.  So  I  took  a 
reluctant  leave,  mounted  my  mule,  and  set  out  into 
the  unknown. 

There  is  a  long-  brickwork  mound  or  breakwater, 
sav  a  foot  hioh,  marking-  the  confines  of  Zaila.  I 
believe  it  is  a  drain  or  aqueduct.  Vi)'  mule  went  on 
with  alacrity  until  he  reached  this.  Then  he  absolutely 
refused  to  stir.  I  beat,  kicked,  coaxed,  and  cursed 
him  all  in  vain.  It  was  only  when  the  syce  and  a 
''tombov"  had  luo-o-ed  him  bv  the  nose,  and  the 
soldier  of  my  escort  had  prodded  him  with  his  gun  for 
about  ten  minutes  that  he  could  be  induced  to  cross 
the  border  and  embark  upon  his  thousand-mile  journey. 
Mv  ears  still  rano-  with  the  Consul's  tales  of  murder  and 
sunstroke,  and  I  could  not  but  mislike  the  omen.  Still 
there  was  a  certain  charm  of  novelty  to  a  sedentary 
civilian  in  setting  forth  in  semi-military  khaki  raiment, 
helmet,  puttee  leggings,  belts  bristling  with  cartridges, 
surrounded  by  armed  men  ;  almost  a  centurion  with 
absolute  authority  in  the  free  realm  of  the  desert. 
What  an  experience !  what  fun  ! 

We  proceeded  at  a  slow,  dignified  pace  over  very 
flat  country,  like  the  seashore  at  low  tide  only  harder, 
here  and  there  were  sparkling  white  incrustations 
suggestive  of  salt  crystals ;  through  this  was  a  broad 
beaten  track.  Beaten  indeed  I  There  were  thousands 
and  thousands  of  hoof-marks  faintly  impressed  on  the 
surface  ;  forty  centuries  looked  up  at  me  from  this 
road  where  caravan  had  followed  caravan  throuohout 
untold  ages.    ?^Iiniature  crevasses  yawned  across  my 


74 


ABYSSINIA 


path.  I  began  to  find  myself  among  stunted  shrubs 
which  bristled  with  prickles.  We  passed  a  camel  in 
difficulties.  The  soldier  and  tent-boy  went  off  to  assist 
it,  and  the  syce  promptly  led  me  off  in  the  wrong 
direction  where  two  tracks  forked.  I  shouted  for  the 
others,  the  syce  shouted,  we  both  shouted,  but  all  in 
vain.  The  camel  seemed  too  interesting  to  be  left. 
My  mule  grew  impatient  and  began  spinning  round 
and  round  like  a  cockroach  on  a  pin. 

This  first  short  march  seemed  very  long,  though  it 
was  full  of  surprises.  I  shall  never  forget  the  weird 
impressions  of  sunset  in  the  shadowless  desert.  Twi- 
light lasted  nearly  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  in  sur- 
prising violation  of  all  accepted  theories  of  the  tropics. 
Then  I  espied  a  very  new  moon,  the  thinnest  little 
silver  curl  imaginable  ;  I  raised  my  helmet  and  turned 
my  money  in  acknowledgment  of  the  omen.  I  came 
among  lights  and  trees,  full  of  fantastic  effects,  every 
one  of  them  a  reminiscence  of  a  fairy  tale.  Stately 
blacks  kept  strutting  out  into  the  open  and  challenging 
with  shields  in  their  hands  like  the  outposts  of  an 
army.  But  where  were  the  expected  lights  of  my 
camp  ?  Abdi,  my  butler,  suddenly  emerged  from  the 
darkness,  and  lo  !  I  was  in  the  midst  of  my  caravan. 
The  camels  sat  about  with  necks  erect,  staring  straight 
in  front  of  them  like  sphinxes,  and  chewing  the  cud 
in  meditative  dignity.  Boxes,  baskets,  and  bales  were 
scattered  about  higgledy-piggledy  on  every  hand. 
Nothing  had  been  unpacked,  there  were  no  lamps, 
no  fires,  no  sign  of  a  tent  or  table.  I  protested 
with  energy,  only  to  learn  that  I  had  all  the  keys  in 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 


75 


my  own  pockets,  and  that  the  camel  which  I  had 
passed  by  the  roadside  carried  my  bed  and  tent. 
Much  groping  and  consulting  of  lists  ensued  before 
I  knew  in  which  of  my  forty-six  packages  the  lanterns, 
matches,  and  needful  provisions  were  concealed.  It 
was  not  an  encouraging  outset,  but  I  pressed  every 
one  into  the  bustle,  despatched  assistance  to  the 
missing  camel,  and  soon  plumed  myself  upon  the 
magical  evolution  of  order  out  of  chaos  by  one  w^hite 
man.  Fires  came  into  being,  the  cook  began  to  cook, 
the  camel  turned  up,  and  I  was  soon  washing  my  face 
at  a  camp  table  outside  my  tent.  Quite  a  good  dinner 
was  created  over  a  furze  fire  and  three  small  stones. 
Here  is  the  menu  of  my  first  repast  in  the  jungle  : — 

Consomme  de  poulet  froid  (essence  of  chicken). 
Cotelettes  de  mouton. 
Pommes  soufflees. 
Poulet  saute. 
Omelette  sucree. 

Pains  de  gingembre  (gingerbread  nuts). 

Dessert. 

Cafe. 

A  feeling  of  contentment  crept  over  me  among 
these  novel  surroundings.  It  is  true  that  thousands 
of  moths  and  other  fat  insects  came  to  die  beside 
my  lamps,  but  the  soothing  warm  air  was  heavy  laden 
with  subtle  scents,  there  was  a  blaze  of  stars  overhead, 
all  sorts  of  ghostly  figures  flitted  about  in  the  firelight, 
and  the  roar  of  millions  of  crickets  all  round  me  was 


76 


ABYSSIXIA 


accompanied  by  a  variety  of  musical  murmurs.  What 
novelty,  what  poetry,  what  fun  ! 

As  I  lay  clown  for  the  first  time  on  a  camp  bed, 
with  the  winds  of  the  wilderness  blowino^  throui^h  a 
tent,  and  marked  the  tramp  of  my  sentinel  outside,  or 
caught  the  gleam  of  his  rifle  in  the  starlight,  or  heard 
the  grumbles  of  slumbering  camels  all  round  me,  I  fell 
a-wondering  what  the  desert  would  have  in  store  for 
me  on  the  morrow.  Verily  had  I  plunged  thousands 
and  thousands  of  miles  through  space  during  the  day 
or  so  which  separated  me  from  the  club  and  dinners 
and  dances  and  picnics  and  prize-fights  of  the  Garden 
of  Aden. 

Before  I  left  Aden  I  asked  a  friend  whether  he 
thought  I  should  hold  my  own  with  my  caravan  or 
become,  like  Ham  the  accursed,  a  servant  of  servants. 
He  replied  with  an  indulgent  smile,  I  think  that 
they  will  wear  you  down  with  passive  resistance." 
And  that  is  precisely  what  did  happen.  After  cross- 
ing the  waterless  desert  between  Warabot  and  Hensa, 
1  was  asked  if  I  would  mind  having  only  an  afternoon 
march  on  the  morrow  as  the  camels  needed  water. 
However,  the  return  for  this  indulgence,  really  quite 
as  much  an  indulgence  to  me  as  it  was  to  the  camels, 
did  not  encourage  further  kindness.  After  a  lazy 
lunch  and  an  exquisite  siesta,  I  woke  up  to  find  the 
camp  still  slumbering.  I  hallooed  for  Abdi  and  told 
him  he  might  pack  up  my  green  tent  when  he  liked. 
He  affected  much  astonishment  and  exclaimed,  "  But 
we  are  not  ooino-  on  till  to-morrow  mornino- ! "  I 
replied  that  I  had  conceded  a  great  favour  in  con- 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 


77 


sentino-  to  rest  all  the  mornincr.  He  went  off  to 
consult  the  head  camelman,  whom  I  could  hear  pro- 
testing in  querulous  besotted  tones  begotten  of  too 
much  mutton.  Presently  I  was  informed  that  the 
camels  had  all  been  sent  off  to  feed  far  away.  They 
could  not  be  collected  before  five,  or  more  probably 
six.  I  replied  that  I  was  resolved  to  start  that  after- 
noon at  all  hazards,  even  though  I  had  to  travel  all 
through  the  night.  The  headman  must  send  out  at 
once  for  the  camels.  I  would  stand  no  nonsense. 
Abdi  went  off,  and  I  heard  a  mixture  of  loud  com- 
plaints and  drowsy,  squeaky  arguments.  At  last  he 
returned  and  said  he  had  prevailed  :  the  camels  had 
been  sent  for.  By  three  o'clock  they  began  to  be 
brought  in,  but  I  was  informed  that  one  camel  had 
strayed  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  wait  till  next 
morninor  to  find  it.  I  said  that  even  thouo-h  all  the 
camels  were  lost  1  would  still  go  on.  A  couple  of 
men  might  remain  and  search,  and  the  missing  camel 
should  carry  my  water-barrels,  which  would  not  be 
needed  for  some  days.  The  headman  did  not  like 
this,  but  he  accepted  my  orders,  and  I  saw  two  men 
sally  forth  with  spears  to  search  for  the  truant.  Then 
further  aro^uments  be^an.  It  would  not  do  to  leave 
the  barrels  as  there  was  no  water  at  the  next  stao^e. 
I  consulted  my  notebook  and  replied,  "  I  know  there 
is  water  at  Las  Ma'an  !  " 

"  W'Allah !  we  cannot  possibly  reach  Las  Ma'an 
to-dav.     It  would  be  midnio-ht  before  we  were  there." 

Nonsense,  I  know  the  distance  is  only  thirteen 
miles.     If  the  camels  start  now,  they  will  be  there 


/8 


ABYSSINIA 


soon  after  nine!  In  any  case  it  is  pleasant  travelling 
bv  nicrht." 

"You  are  my  father  and  mother.  If  you  order 
me,  I  go  ;  but  one  camel  is  lost,  the  others  are  far 
away.  ..."    And  so  forth. 

At  3.50  I  was  informed  that  the  lost  camel  had 
been  found.  I  remarked  that  I  thought  it  would  be, 
and  there  were  some  smiles. 

Of  course  I  did  not  get  my  way  about  the  long 
march,  but  on  the  morrow  we  managed  a  little  better, 
and  in  the  evening  I  ordered  tea  all  round  to  en- 
courage everybody.  They  grew  quite  hilarious  over 
their  cups,  and  I  heard  one  man  making  a  vehement 
speech,  which  was  punctuated  with  roars  of  laughter. 
I  asked  Abdi  to  divert  me  with  a  translation  of  the 
buffoonery,  which  proved  to  savour  somewhat  of  that 
''new  humour,"  which  is  no  humour  at  all.  It  was 
little  more  than  a  long  rigmarole  about  small  catas- 
trophies,  such  as  happen  to  "three  men  in  a  boat." 
"  \\'hy  does  my  camel  always  start  last  .-^  "  quoth  the 
wag.  "  It  really  isn't  fair.  He  doesn't  like  it  at  all, 
with  his  sense  of  dignity.  That  is  why  he  bit  Nadif's 
camel  on  the  way  and  Nadif's  camel  revenged  himself 
by  damaging  the  sah'b's  tin  basin.  Now  what  will 
befall  us  if  the  sah'b  needs  that  basin  ?  W Allah  ! 
he  will  send  it  back  to  Zaila  to  show  how  badly  our 
camels  have  behaved.  Then  will  the  Burra  Sah'b  at 
Zaila  send  for  us  and  beat  us  with  many  sticks." 
And  so  forth  by  the  hour. 

At  last  I  interrupted  all  this  by  inquiring  about  the 
morrow's  march.    It  was  as  though  I  had  thrown  a 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  79 


bucketful  of  water  into  the  group.  The  headman  and 
half  a  dozen  others  jumped  up  as  if  they  had  been 
shot,  they  formed  a  knot,  and  all  began  to  gesticulate 
and  talk  at  once.  At  last  a  quiet  message  emerged 
from  the  tumult  :  "I  was  their  father  and  mother,  and 
would  I  please  be  so  very  kind  as  to  make  to-morrow's 
march  as  short  as  possible?"  This  was  Sunday  night, 
but  it  was  not  till  Tuesday  afternoon  that  passive 
resistance  really  became  serious  again.  I  had  ordered 
the  evening  camp  to  be  pitched  at  a  lovely  oasis 
called  Bia  Kaboba  and  I  let  the  caravan  go  far  ahead, 
as  I  hoped,  while  I  stalked  bustards  and  oryx.  What, 
then,  was  my  disgust  to  come  upon  my  encampment 
at  nightfall  at  a  rocky,  God-forsaken  place  called 
Maramaduis,  ^several  hours  short  of  Bia  Kaboba. 
The  peculiar  vexation  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  head- 
man had  proposed  Maramaduis  as  our  camp  and  I 
had  sternly  refused.  As  I  was  preparing  to  go  to  bed 
I  heard  the  camelmen  laughing  over  their  success, 
so  I  sent  word  at  once  that  I  intended  to  reach  Dalle 
Malle  next  day.  This  was  twenty-seven  miles  off 
and  would  mean  making  up  for  all  the  lost  time. 
The  laughter  ceased  abruptly.  But  by  this  time  I 
had  begun  to  gauge  the  force  of  passive  resistance. 

And  lo  !  next  morning  my  worst  fear  was  verified. 
I  packed  off  the  caravan  quite  early  without  any 
particular  trouble.  I  had  a  brush  with  a  lioness  on 
entering  the  groves  of  Bia  Kaboba,  but  I  hurried  on, 
reflecting  over  the  long  march  which  lay  before  me. 
Then  of  a  sudden  I  espied  some  camels,  some  cases, 
some  tents,  all  suspiciously  like  mine.      It  was  not 


8o 


ABYSSINIA 


nine  in  the  morning.  Yet  here  were  the  camp  pitched, 
the  men  lounging  about,  fetching  water  or  preparing 
to  cook,  the  camels  let  loose  to  graze — in  fact  every 
prospect  of  a  prolonged  stay.  This  was  flagrant 
disobedience  at  last,  and  my  fury  moved  me  to  bestir 
myself  I  sent  for  the  headman  and  rated  him 
soundly,  insisting  that  the  camels  should  be  reloaded 
and  the  march  resumed  at  once.  He  acquiesced 
sullenly,  and  I  sat  down  under  a  tree  while  his  sub- 
ordinates were  being  collected. 

Presently  nine  men  approached  me  with  their  spears 
and  staves  for  a  grand  palaver  of  remonstrance. 
Eight  of  them  squatted  on  their  haunches  w^hile  their 
spokesman  stood  up  and  embarked  upon  an  im- 
passioned harangue.  He  held  a  long  wand  in  his 
hand  and  kept  pointing  it  at  me  in  dramatic  denun- 
ciation at  the  end  of  every  period,  but  one  of  the  others 
nudoed  him,  as  thoucjh  to  sav  this  was  not  o^ood  form, 
w^hereupon  he  threw  it  down  viciously  at  my  feet. 
The  speech  may  have  been  very  impressive,  but  Abdi 
was  away  at  the  wells  and  I  did  not  understand  a 
word.  So  I  held  up  my  hand  and  said,  "  Shut  up  !  " 
which  the  orator's  instinct  seemed  to  interpret  for  him. 
At  last  Abdi  returned,  and  I  was  able  to  have  it  out. 

Spokesman  :  Our  camels  hunger  and  thirst,  and 
two  days  of  desert  lie  before  us." 

I  :  "  Well,  whose  fault  is  that  ?  I  wanted  to  get 
here  last  night." 

Spokesman  :  "  But  here  w^e  are  amid  springs  and 
pastures.  Our  camels  cannot  go  forward  unless  they 
first  fortify  themselves.    We  pray  you  let  us  tarry  here 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  8i 


awhile.  Then  we  will  go  on  to  the  place  you  name, 
even  though  we  must  travel  all  through  the  night." 

I  :  "  But  why  does  this  man  palaver  with  me  ?  The 
headman  is  responsible.  Let  us  hear  what  he  has 
to  say." 

The  headman,  who  was  standing  at  the  edge  of  the 
semicircle,  now  said,  Sir,  we  know  you  are  a  big 
man,  and  he  who  sent  us  with  you  is  also  a  big  m.an." 


A  PALAVER  OF  CAMELMKN. 
{Photograph  by  CAPTAIN  POWELL-COTTOX. 


I  :  "All  the  more  reason  that  you  should  obey  my 
orders." 

This  seemed  unanswerable,  and  there  was  a  murmur 
as  who  should  say  I  had  scored,  for  the  Somalis  can 
appreciate  a  joke  even  against  themselves. 

I  went  on  :  "  Why  did  you  only  start  at  five  when  I 
told  you  to  start  very  early  for  this  long  march  ?  " 

Headman  :  "  Sir,  it  was  very  cold  in  the  night." 

G 


82 


ABYSSINIA 


I  was  about  to  protest  when  three  shots  were 
suddenly  fired  a  yard  behind  me. 

I  looked  round  angrily  to  find  three  grinning  Somalis 
drawn  up  to  attention.  They  were  the  Abyssinian 
guard,  who  had  just  fired  a  salute  into  the  air,  and  I 
was  told  that  it  was  customary  to  give  them  a  present. 
Havino-  satisfied  them  with  some  o'ame  and  rice  and 
loincloths,  I  returned  to  my  palaver.  If  I  conceded  a 
rest  now,  when  would  they  be  ready  to  start  ? 

They  replied  :  "At  the  same  time  as  yesterday — 
3  p.m.  I  suggested  eleven,  and  finally  we  compromised 
for  twelve.  In  the  evenincr,  and  aorain  next  dav, 
passive  resistance  resumed  its  sway.  There  were 
alwavs  excuses  galore  :  the  camels  were  tired  and 
tried  to  lie  down  by  the  roadside,  so  the  men  had  to 
camp  too  soon  ;  or  else  the  camels  were  tired  or  had 
strayed,  and  it  was  impossible  to  start  early.  I 
always  obtained  something  by  my  protests,  but,  short 
of  a  fight,  I  never  could  have  obtained  all  the  speed  I 
wanted. 

However,  it  is  always  difficult  to  be  really  angry  with 
so  cheerful  and  good-humoured  a  rascal  as  a  Somali. 
He  is  so  delightfully  simple  too,  even  in  his  flattery. 
In  discussinof  the  next  dav's  route  I  was  alwavs 
regarded  as  a  kind  of  wizard,  because  I  not  only 
knew  the  names  and  distances,  but  even  where  there 
would  be  water,  and  what  would  be  the  state  of  the 
road.  I  would  hear  loud  murmurs  of  astonishment. 
"  Well,  what  is  it  ?  "  I  would  say  to  Abdi. 

"  They  say,"  he  would  reply.  "  how  do  you  know 
How  can  you  know  ?  " 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 


83 


"  The  Afrits  told  me." 

And  a  long  ripple  of  "  W'Allah  "  would  go  round 
the  crowd. 

Now  to  describe  the  sensations  of  a  caravan 
journey  so  that  every  reader  may  experience  them. 
This  has  never  been  done,  perhaps  never  will  be. 

The  keynote  is  monotony.    You  wake  in  the  dark 


THE  DETARTURE  OF  MV  DECK-CHAIR. 


and  speed  your  departing  camels  while  your  night 
things  are  being  packed  and  your  breakfast  is  being 
prepared.  Off  they  go  in  their  long,  slow,  majestic 
file,  followed  at  intervals  by  various  stragglers  carrying 
a  chair,  or  a  pail,  or  a  sackful  of  odds  and  ends  slung 
over  their  shoulders.  The  first  of  your  personal 
servants  to  start  is  the  cook.     I  can  laugh  still  over 


84 


ABYSSINIA 


the  recollection  of  Reggel  on  the  march.  Picture  a 
man  in  a  blue  coat  with  a  broad  white  band,  a  red  and 
yellow  striped  kilt — above  these  a  round,  bald  head 
with  long,  projecting  ears,  and  below  a  pair  of  very 
spindly  black  shanks.  Round  his  neck  is  a  bit  of  rope 
from  which  he  has  suspended  the  big  rusty  key  of  his 
provision  box,  like  a  medallion.  In  one  hand  is  an 
unlighted  lantern,  in  the  other  a  cumbrous  basket,  and 
it  takes  him  all  his  time  to  drive  my  small  flock  of 
sheep  :  ridiculous  beasts  with  white  bodies  and  black 
heads,  bloated  bags  at  their  throats  and  laughable 
stumpy  tails  where  they  store  their  surplus  fat. 
Between  five  and  six  I  announce  that  I  am  off. 
My  syce  holds  the  stirrup  in  true  feudal  fashion  for 
me  to  mount  my  mule,  other  retainers  shoulder  my 
guns  (if  possible  so  that  they  may  point  straight  at  me), 
there  is  a  last  lingering  look  round  to  see  if  anything 
has  been  left  behind,  and  the  day's  treadmill  begins. 

The  delights  of  vagabondage  have  certainly  been 
exaggerated.  People  who  talk  romantically  about  the 
freedom  of  the  desert  forget  its  limitations.  They 
might  just  as  well  extol  the  freedom  of  a  man  in  a 
small  boat  at  sea — but  how  is  he  going  to  make  use 
of  it  ?  The  whole  thing  might  be  regarded  as  an 
amusing  picnic  by  a  congenial  party,  though  the 
opportunities  of  quarrel  would  be  enormous.  If 
only  to  vary  the  monotony,  an  occasional  row  would 
be  indispensable.  Joseph  certainly  knew  the  con- 
ditions of  this  kind  of  travel,  when  he  begged  his 
brethren  to  see  that  they  fell  not  out  by  the  way. 
Of  course  there  are  compensations  in  travelling  alone. 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  85 


You  have  nobody's  wishes  or  fancies  to  consider  but 
your  own,  and  it  is  good  for  you  to  have  to  rely  on 
yourself.  But  after  a  week  you  feel  as  though  you 
would  like  to  scream  aloud  for  companionship,  you 
yearn  for  the  sight  of  a  white  face,  you  would  almost 
give  away  your  tongue  for  a  chat  with  an  Englishman. 
When  you  have  met  a  rare  traveller,  you  are  set  up  in 
good-humour  for  hours  or  days,  even  though  he  be 
only  a  Frenchman,  or  German,  or  Greek. 

Oh  !  the  monotony  of  the  road  between  Zaila  and 
Gildessa.  On  the  map  you  see  a  fine  string  of  names, 
and  you  anticipate  that  each  represents  a  strange 
barbarous  village,  where  you  will  be  able  to  observe 
the  antediluvian  customs  of  an  old-world  race.  Not  a 
bit  of  it  :  saving  one  or  two  poor  huts  for  the  military 
posts,  and  these  at  long  intervals,  there  is  not  a  trace 
of  human  habitation  all  the  way.  At  the  best  you 
meet  an  occasional  shepherd  or  an  occasional 
caravan.  All  the  high-sounding  names  represent  only 
so  many  wells  or  hills  or  other  camping-places,  some- 
times even  a  mere  solitary  tree  standing  alone  like  a 
sentinel  in  the  desert.  So  all  day  long  you  plod,  plod, 
plod  forward,  now^  struggling  and  kicking  and  beating 
in  the  vain  hope  of  making  your  mule  go  a  jot  faster 
than  he  chooses,  now  getting  off  and  trudging  it  afoot, 
nor  minding  the  cruel  boulders  if  only  you  may  cover 
the  tedious  ground  a  wee  bit  faster.  You  plod,  plod, 
plod,  all  day  with  nothing  to  think  of  but  the  miles  and 
minutes  of  your  march  ;  the  same  surroundings  repeat 
themselves  so  pitilessly  that  you  soon  know  them  all 
by  heart    and  abandon  hope  of  discovering  a  new 


86 


ABYSSINIA 


aspect  or  a  new  sensation.  It  is  indeed  a  pilgrim's 
progress,  as  dull  and  unconvincing  as  Bunyan's. 

I  have  now  been  describing  the  instant  impressions. 
When  I  reached  Harrar,  these  were  so  strong  upon 
me  that  I  fervently  hoped  Menelik  would  refuse  me 
permission  to  proceed  any  further  ;  and  a  great  dread 
came  over  me  with  the  reflection  that  I  must  go 
over  all  this  intolerable  country  again  before  I  could 
return  to  the  coast.  Yet  now  that  I  have  returned 
I  can  look  back  upon  the  experience  with  indulgence, 
and  even  congratulate  myself  upon  having  gone 
through  it.  Apart  from  the  incredible  benefits  to 
my  health  and  strength,  I  find  an  interest  in  the 
sum  total  of  incidents  and  impressions  which,  taken 
separately,  bored  me  incredibly.  Sometimes  I  almost 
fancy  I  should  like  to  go  again,  and  I  never  desist 
from  recommending  all  my  friends  to  set  out.  After 
all,  the  appreciation  of  desert  travel  is  entirely  a  matter 
of  temperament.  Perhaps  the  chief  drawback  of  the 
journey  through  Somaliland  is  that  you  may  not  inure 
yourself  gradually.  You  must  plunge  at  once  into  the 
hardest  and  dreariest  tract  of  country,  into  blinding 
glare,  choking  dust,  and  stifling  heat. 

I  had  scarcely  realised  this  kind  of  desert  before. 
I  imagined  all  deserts  were  great  wastes  of  soft  yellow 
sand,  such  as  I  had  seen  at  Gabes  and  Tripoli.  I  had 
forgotten  that,  though  deserts  may  be  but  the  dry 
beds  of  exhausted  oceans,  a  seashore  is  as  likely  to 
be  covered  with  pebbles  as  with  sand.  In  Somali- 
land  the  pebbles  predominate  and  grow^  up  into 
boulders,  which  are  the  rockery  of  a  strange  withered 


THROUGH  THE  LAXD  OF  LIONS 


87 


garden.  There  are  parched  aloes  and  shrivelled 
mhnosas,  all  sorts  of  orraceful  shrubs,  which  on 
closer  acquaintance  prove  so  much  crumbling  match- 
wood. The  arrangement  is  exquisite,  surpassing 
even  the  horticulture  of  Hampton  Court  or  Monte 
Carlo,  but  you  are  in  a  pleasure  garden  of  the 
dead,  which  bears  no  close  inspection.  It  is  an 
ugly  glutinous  vegetation,  all  stunted,  all  parading 
its  inhospitality  by  exaggerated  armaments  of  huge 
thorns  and  clustering  prickles.  The  white  berries 
are  like  parched  peas,  and  a  rare  tulip-tree  of  sorts 
bears  bier  orrev  oranges,  which  contain  nothincr  but 

00.  0  «-5 

woolly  fibres,  cobwebby  gristles,  a  veritable  Dead  Sea 
fruit.  The  onlv  redeemino-  feature  is  the  intoxicatino^ 
scent,  recalling  a  quintessence  of  clover  and  heather, 
with  which  it  loads  the  air.  Without  exaggeration, 
you  come  to  reek  of  it  in  every  rag  and  every  pore 
as  surelv  as  vou  reek  of  other  odours  after  travellinof 
in  a  third-class  smoker  of  the  Underground.  This 
incense  of  the  desert  and  the  o'revness  of  the  desert — - 
these  are  my  two  liveliest  recollections. 

The  greyness  of  the  desert  :  you  are  in  a  sea  of 
grey.  The  fierce  sun  beats  clown  upon  you  from  a 
blue-grey  sky  ;  as  you  pass,  grey  shrubs  nod  at  you  in 
apoplectic  grimness,  and  livid  grey  lizards  shiver  away 
over  the  grey  sand  ;  grey  jackals  eye  you  suspiciously 
from  behind  huo-e  erev  ant-hills  ;  o-rev  bones  and  skulls 
strew  the  beaten  track  in  every  stage  of  decomposition. 
It  is  only  when  the  bright  moon  rises  and  sheds 
sepulchral  shadows  on  every  hand,  that  all  is  trans- 
figured with  a  haze  of  frosted  silver.     Between  the 


88 


ABYSSINIA 


intervals  of  desert  are  stretches  of  semi-desert,  where 
the  boulders  are  not  rendered  more  tolerable  by  the 
intrusion  of  hills,  though  a  certain  variety  is  imported 
by  the  fantastic  outlines  of  purple  ranges  and  brown 
mountains  shaped  like  tents  and  tabernacles,  or  by  the 
graceful  pose  of  umbrella-shaped  trees. 

Such  are  your  unvarying  surroundings  during  nine 
or  ten  days,  all  the  way  to  Gildessa.  You  plod  along 
from  cock-crow  until  the  heat  is  unbearable,  when  you 
pitch  your  tent  or  seek  the  shelter  of  a  tree.  Your 
cook  collects  three  stones,  kindles  a  fire  as  though 
by  magic,  and  soon  prepares  a  tempting  meal.  You 
make  up  arrears  of  slumber  until  it  is  cool  enough 
to  set  out  after  your  camels  for  the  evening  camp. 
The  afternoon  march  is  the  counterpart  of  the  fore- 
noon's, and  you  have  again  no  other  goal  but  food 
and  sleep.  Even  at  night  you  have  no  peace.  The 
Somalis  who  have  run  all  day  beside  your  mule,  whose 
hours  of  rest  have  been  taxed  by  ministrations  to  your 
comfort,  never  show  signs  of  fatigue.  Instead  of 
curling  themselves  up  in  their  blankets  and  securing 
every  available  moment  for  a  hard-earned  sleep,  they 
now  redouble  the  chatter  and  the  raucous  sonors  with 
which  they  have  beguiled  their  run.  Sometimes  I 
wished  that  they  could  curb  their  spirits,  but  I  had 
not  the  heart  to  check  them,  and  I  reflected  that, 
though  my  slumbers  might  suffer,  my  sense  of  security 
was  enhanced.  The  only  nocturnal  habit  I  drew  the 
line  at  was  a  tent-boy  coming  to  snore  under  the  flap 
of  my  tent,  an  inch  or  so  away  from  my  nose.  The 
culprit  would  behave  just  like  a  dog  about  it.    I  would 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  89 


bang  him  with  my  hand  through  the  canvas.  He  would 
wake  up  reluctandy,  go  away,  and  presendy  return  to 
snore  again.  This  would  be  repeated  two  or  three 
times,  my  blow^s  and  remonstrances  growing  ever 
more  viororous.  Then  at  last  I  would  needs  shout 
for  Abdi,  who  seemed  ever  on  the  alert.  Wariya  ! 
Wariya ! "  and  my  tormentor  would  be  hurried  off, 


APPROACHING  GILDESSA. 


leaving  me  to  pass  the  rest  of  the  night  in  peace, 
unless  perchance  a  camel  came  lurching  against  the 
tent,  or  my  mule  took  to  stumbling  among  the  ropes, 
or  a  sudden  thunderstorm  threatened  to  wash  me 
away. 

For  nine  days  I  had  plodded  wearily  over  grey 
deserts  and  rocky  ravines,  gnashing  my  teeth  for 


90 


ABYSSINIA 


very  loneliness,  sometimes  even  breaking  out  into 
a  tuneless  chaunt  to  exercise  mv  luno-s.  How  mv 
spirits  rose  as  I  approached  the  little  township  of 
Gildessa  !  Here  at  last  were  plenty  of  green  trees, 
and  a  market,  and  unsophisticated  peasants.  I  had 
accomplished  one  stage  in  my  long  journey  ;  I  should 
be  rid  of  mv  tiresome  camels  and  camelmen,  in  whose 


THE  TORRENT-BED  OF  GILDESSA 


place  Others  would  convey  me  over  the  mountains 
to  Harrar.  The  only  drawback  was  that  Gildessa 
possesses  an  evil  reputation  for  fever,  which  some 
people  declare  is  quite  unwarranted.  There  are  cer- 
tainly no  marshes  or  swamps,  but  the  little  town  stands 
close  to  a  broad,  dry  torrent-bed,  where  all  sorts  of 
oarbaoe  and  refuse  are  offered  for  the  delectation  of 


WOMEN  SELLING  FUEL  AT  GILDESSA. 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 


93 


the  hyenas  and  vultures.  I  was  according-ly  advised 
to  pitch  my  camp  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  away 
from  the  town  under  the  grateful  shade  of  the  nullah. 
What,  then,  was  my  disgust  on  arriving,  to  find  that 
my  direct  orders  had  been  ignored  by  the  camelmen, 
and  that  all  my  boxes  had  been  dumped  down  at  the 
edsfe  of  the  torrent-bed.  I  remonstrated  heartilv  and 
insisted  that  they  should  be  removed  at  once.  But 
the  camels  had  all  wandered  off  to  graze,  most  of  the 
camelmen  had  gone  off  to  fraternise  with  their  friends 
in  the  town,  and  the  few  who  remained  replied  curtly 
that  "every  sah'b  he  camp  here."  So  my  own 
servants  had  to  run  about  and  collect  the  camels 
while  I  exercised  my  lungs  and  my  legs  and  kept  a 
watchful  eye  upon  the  numerous  loafers  who  had  con- 
gregated to  gape  at  the  white  man.  Most  officious 
amongst  them  was  a  very  old  madman,  who  strutted 
about  brandishincr  a  huoe  scimitar,  which  he  had 
drawn  from  a  silver  scabbard  at  his  side.  I  had 
hardly  crossed  the  torrent-bed,  and  was  still  in  the 
midst  of  my  altercation  about  the  camping-place, 
when  he  advanced  towards  me,  saluted  pompously, 
and  held  out  his  hand.  Imao-ininof  he  was  some 
official,  I  shook  hands  and  inquired  what  he  wanted. 
Abdi  replied  that  the  fellow  was  a  mad  beggar,  but 
that  travellers  generally  gave  him  something,  as 
madmen  are  considered  more  or  less  saintly  by 
Muhammadans.  This  is  the  kind  of  stuff  which 
produces  the  various  Mahdis,  Mullahs,  and  other 
fanatics  who  stir  up  sedition  in  Africa.  I  remember 
a  similar  individual  who   used  to    strut   about  the 


94 


ABYSSINIA 


public  square  at  Tangier  and  spit  at  every  European 
or  Jew  who  passed.  The  man  with  the  scimitar 
was  an  incessant  nuisance  throughout  the  two  days 
which  I  spent  at  Gildessa.  Bribing  him  to  go  away 
only  made  him  the  more  attentive,  and  when  I 
threatened  him  with  my  stick,  I  was  advised  to 
beware  of  outraging   public   opinion  by  striking  a 


saint.  In  the  midst  of  this  annoyance  I  received 
a  curt  messaore  that  the  Governor  of  Gildessa 
expected  all  travellers  to  come  and  report  them- 
selves at  the  custom-house.  1  replied  that,  if  he 
wished  to  see  me,  he  might  pay  me  a  visit  at  my 
camp.  At  last  I  got  my  way,  my  tents  were  pitched 
in  a  patch  of  delicious  shade,  and  kindly  peasants 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  95 


arrived  with  offerings  of  milk  and  eggs.  Duly 
refreshed,   I  strolled  across  to  view  the  town. 

It  consists  for  the  most  part  of  round  huts,  like 
summer-houses,  made  of  bamboo  and  wattling  with 
thatched  roofs.     These  are  known  as  tukuls,  and 


ABYSSINIAN  WOMEN  SERVANTS  POUNDING  RED  PEPPER. 
{Photograt'h  by  Captain  Harrington'.) 


generally  have  some  kind  of  courtyard  outside  with 
more  or  less  of  a  palisade.  Here  women  are  at 
work,  oftenest  pounding  pepper  with  a  huge  wooden 
pestle,  nearly  as  tall  as  themselves,  in  a  mortar  shaped 
like  a  jack-boot.  The  process  has  the  appearance  of 
churning.    The  bazaar  was  thronged  with  loungers, 


96 


ABYSSINIA 


though  there  seemed  extremely  little  to  buy.  A 
number  of  asses  stood  for  sale  or  hire  on  the  top 
of  a  hill,  and  others  were  congregated  in  a  courtyard, 
which  recalled  the  fonduk  of  Arab  lands.  Women 
crouched  under  umbrella-tents,  presiding  over  basket- 
work  pannikins  of  snuff,  grain,  chillies,  or  occasionally 
a  few  hanclfuls  of  gums.  Nearly  every  woman  wore 
several  necklaces  of  glass  beads,  and  the  better-to-do 
had  silver  cartwheel  earrinos.  The  maidens  wore 
their  hair  in  mops,  while  the  married  women  tied 
it  up  tightly  in  a  black  or  blue-black  cloth.  The 
costume  of  men  and  women  alike  is  restricted  to 
a  single  white  garment,  a  cotton  sheet,  or  tobe, 
which  is  wound  round  the  body.  The  men  fold 
it  round  them  so  as  to  leave  an  end,  which  they  fling 
dramatically  over  their  shoulders  like  a  Spaniard's 
cloak.  The  women  fasten  it  more  securely  round 
their  waists,  leaving  a  loose  end  with  which  they 
can  cover  their  shoulders  and  even  their  heads  if 
they  choose.  1  am  speaking,  of  course,  of  Somalis, 
who  constitute  the  large  majority  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  Butchers'  bazaar  was  similar  to  others  in  Somali- 
land,  only  simpler  than  that  I  had  seen  at  the  coast. 
An  arrangement  of  clothes-lines  formed  a  rude  square, 
from  which  loathsome  bits  of  cat's-meat  dangled.  Up 
on  the  top  of  a  steep  hill  were  three  or  four  tukuls, 
where  the  Abyssinian  authorities  dominate  the  town. 
I  could  hear  them  tootling  their  bugles  at  all  hours  of 
the  day,  most  loudly  of  all  at  sunrise  and  sunset. 

After  dinner  I  felt  on  extremely  good  terms  with 
myself,  and  called  gaily  for  a  dance.    As  Abdi  went 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  97 


off  to  see  what  he  could  arrange,  I  said  in  chaff, 
"  Don't  bring  the  whole  village."  "  No,  sah'b,  I  no 
bring  that,"  he  laughed.  But  he  had  reckoned  with- 
out Somali  curiosity,  and  when  the  shades  of  night 
had  fallen  upon  my  encampment,  I  found  that  the 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  had  come  over  the  broad 
dry  torrent-bed  from  the  village.  The  dance  v/as 
admirably  staged.  I  was  in  a  deep  grove,  and  the 
full  moon  shone  splendidly  through  the  trees.  I  sat 
outside  my  tent  smoking  cigarettes  and  listening  to 
the  hyenas  and  jackals.  Presently  there  was  a  hum 
of  barbaric  singing  in  the  distance,  towards  the  town 
of  Gildessa.  I  strained  my  ears  and  eyes,  until  finally 
I  made  out  a  band  of  ghostly  figures  flitting  forward 
through  the  grove,  with  gleaming  spears  and  martial 
tramp.  As  they  approached  their  chaunt  seemed  to 
lose  its  barbarism  and  put  on  an  ecclesiastical  effect. 
At  last  I  could  distinguish  the  words  of  the  chorale  : 
Salaam  Allah  !  Salaam  Allah  !  Salaam  Allah  !  "  (The 
peace  of  God  be  upon  thee !).  What  a  prelude  to  an 
orgy! 

A  crowd  of  savages  halted  a  hundred  yards  off, 
grounded  their  spears,  and  executed  a  few  dance  steps 
to  the  accompaniment  of  singing  and  clapping  of 
hands.  Then  they  advanced  a  little,  halted  again, 
advanced,  halted,  and  finally  entered  the  swept  space, 
which  my  servants  had  prepared  for  the  show. 
"  Salaam  Allah  !  Salaam  Allah  !  Salaam  Allah  !  " — the 
welcome  grew  deafening. 

"Where  are  the  women  ?  "  I  asked  grumpily. 
They  come  later." 

II 


98 


ABYSSINIA 


Meanwhile  the  men  certainly  exhibited  <(reat  vigour. 
Their  step  began  with  a  kind  of  crouch  ;  they  beat 
the  earth  with  their  bare  feet  so  that  you  might 
imagine  hundreds  of  flails  at  work,  and  great  clouds 
of  dust  arose  as  they  proceeded  to  pirouette  round 
one  another.  Their  long  spears  fringed  the  skyline, 
ever  and  anon  ball-cartrido-es  would  be  fired  into  the 
air.  "  Salaam  Allah  !  Salaam  Allah  !  Salaam  Allah  !  " 
— would  they  never  desist  from  their  stormy  greeting  ? 

This  was  only  the  prelude.  The  first  turn  was  a 
cutlass  and  shield  dance.  The  crowd  resolved  itself 
into  a  restless  chorus,  while  two  men  advanced  into 
the  centre.  They  seemed  in  grim,  deadly  earnest, 
one  seeking  to  stab  the  other  with  his  gleaming  steel, 
the  other  defending  himself  desperately  with  his  small 
Somali  shield.  It  was  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  dex- 
terity, and  none  would  have  believed  the  dancers  could 
be  merely  at  play.  Their  eyes  were  aflame  with  malice  ; 
surely  the  lust  of  slaughter  was  upon  them,  yet  the 
man  with  the  cutlass  never  succeeded  in  strikino^  anv- 
thing  but  the  centre  of  the  shield.  He  pursued,  he 
retreated,  he  slashed  at  his  foe's  head,  chest,  arms,  at 
every  vulnerable  point,  and  every  instant  I  expected 
to  espy  a  deep  red  gash.  The  man  with  the  shield 
seemed  to  bear  a  charmed  life.  At  last  the  defence 
began  to  wane,  the  shield  was  plied  with  less  vigour, 
the  defender  sank  upon  one  knee,  he  crouched,  he 
grovelled,  he  pressed  his  fingers  to  his  lips,  he 
trembled  like  an  aspen  and  craved  aloud  for  mercy. 
Never  had  I  heard  such  sounds  of  abject  fear.  The 
other  made    his    scimitar  whistle    through  the  air, 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  loi 


pinned  the  wretch  down  to  the  earth  with  his  left 
hand,  and  prepared  with  a  grim  grin  to  sHt  his  weasand. 
The  victim  wTiggled  on  his  belly  towards  me  and 
made  signs  of  imploring  intercession.  1  raised  my 
thumb  like  a  Roman  Emperor  at  a  gladiatorial  game, 
and  the  victor  gave  up  his  victory  at  once.  "  Salaam 
Allah  !  Salaam  Allah  !  " 

The  next  scene  was  a  perfect  pandemonium.  It 
began  with  a  hissing,  whisding  sound  from  everybody's 
throat  to  imitate  the  noise  of  weapons  in  the  air. 
Then  everybody  began  to  rush  at  everybody  else. 
Clouds  of  choking  dust  thickened  the  air,  and  the 
turmoil  drew  every  instant  nearer  and  nearer  to  me. 
Steel  was  swishing  over  my  head,  a  few  inches  only 
over  my  head,  in  the  moonlight,  and  masses  of  brown, 
surging  humanity,  stinking  with  perspiration,  were 
clasping  my  feet  to  implore  protection  against  their 
sham  enemies.  I  had  to  retire  hastily  and  wash  my 
mouth  with  whiskey  and  soda. 

In  any  case,  there  was  none  of  the  monotony  usually 
ascribed  to  savage  dances.  Indeed  the  next  turn 
was  very  far  from  monotonous.  A  man  was  muffled 
up  in  a  big  white  burnus  so  that  only  his  eyes,  nose, 
and  the  lower  part  of  his  legs  appeared.  He  jumped 
up  and  down  in  a  woulcl-be  effeminate  manner  and 
whinnied  to  simulate  shyness.  Two  men  (one  of 
whom  was  my  Arab  soldier)  placed  themselves  on 
either  side,  their  faces  oflitteringr  with  amorous  desires. 
They  beat  their  breasts  and  murmured  Ahhh  !  "  to 
denote  their  passion.  Gradually  they  sidled  up  nearer 
and  nearer.     But  the  rest  is  better  left  imagined  than 


I02 


ABYSSINIA 


described.  Fortunately  for  the  performers  there  is 
no  County  Council  at  Gildessa. 

Just  as  the  rude  merriment  was  subsiding,  I  heard 
a  sound  on  my  left  like  the  gallop  of  cavalry.  When 
I  had  overcome  my  surprise,  I  reflected  that  perhaps 
it  was  onlv  a  reo^iment  of  infantrv  markino^  time.  I 
strained  my  eyes  and  perceived  that  the  noise  was 
caused  by  some  dozen  young  Somali  braves,  who 
were  gathered  in  a  semicircle  and  stamped  in  unison 
as  though  they  would  beat  open  the  earth.  Their 
hair  projected  in  thick,  wig-like  mats,  and  some  of 
them — those,  I  learned,  who  had  slain  many  men  — 
wore  feathery  tufts  on  the  top  of  their  heads.  They 
waved  longer  spears  than  the  crowd,  they  shouted 
louder,  altogether  there  was  far  more  vigour  about 
their  dancing.  They  closed  in,  forming  a  circle,  facing 
inwards,  stamping,  shouting,  brandishing  their  spears 
and  shields — a  olorified  football  scrimmacje.  First 
each  seemed  to  be  for  forcing  his  way  in  at  all  hazards, 
then  came  a  curious  gazelle-like  bound  backwards 
as  if  for  a  fresh  charge  into  the  scrimmai>"e.  This 
was  the  most  barbaric  part  of  the  performance,  and 
the  barbarism  was  heightened  by  the  reflection  of 
what  those  hair-tufts  meant. 

But  the  dances  were  beino-  resumed.  There  were 
Catherine-wheels,  the  men  dancing  with  their  hands 
as  well  as  with  their  feet  :  some  very  gracefully,  others 
like  boys  on  the  way  to  the  Derby.  There  were 
animal  dances,  accompanied  by  strange  animal  noises, 
a  camelman  in  a  brown  jerkin  being  especially  expert. 

Now  I  was  told  that  the  women  had  arrived,  and 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS 


I  saw  a  score  or  so  huddlinor  together  in  the  distance. 
The  ground  was  cleared  for  them,  but  they  refused 
to  come  nearer  than  twenty  yards,  for  Abdi  said, 
"They  'shamed  to  dance  before  big  mister."  After 
all,  this  was  no  great  loss,  for  their  timidity  prevented 
them  from  doing  much  more  than  clap  their  hands  and 
drone  a  refrain.  Two  or  three  men  danced  towards 
them  in  a  goat-like  w^ay.  To  and  fro  they  danced  for 
nearly  half  an  hour,  chaunting  loudly,  defiantly,  but 
the  women  still  kept  closely  huddled,  and  did  nothing- 
more  than  clap  and  drone  mechanically.  Eventually 
one  or  two  were  prevailed  upon  to  come  forward  a 
very  little,  and  a  set  was  formed.  Two  men  and  two 
women  danced  slowly  in  a  circle,  then  more  quickly 
towards  the  centre,  then  round  and  round  again.  It 
was  very  long  and  very  tedious ;  the  same  monotonous 
refrain  was  repeated  incessantly,  and  I  w^as  told  it 
was  all  in  praise  of  the  "  big  mister." 

When  I  could  endure  it  no  longer,  I  oave  the 
signal  for  an  end,  and  all  retreated  into  groups 
accordins:  to  sex  and  a^e  and  tribe.  W^ithin  a  few 
minutes  the  whole  hubbub  was  stilled,  and  all  the 
revellers  were  squatting  silently  in  the  moonlight, 
waiting  to  be  paid.  A  thick  cloud  of  choking  dust 
alone  bore  evidence  of  the  recent  revel.  Abdi  had 
promised  that  the  whole  village  should  not  be  allowed 
to  come,  but  there  must  have  been  at  least  six  hundred 
persons  there  waiting  to  be  paid.  Abdi  suggested  a 
payment  to  each  group,  and  gallantly  insisted  upon 
my  giving  a  double  quota  to  the  group  of  women,  who 
had  done  so  much  less  than  the  others.     "  They  very 


104 


ABYSSINIA 


much  'shamed,  sah'b,"  he  reminded  me,  but  I  could 
discern  no  reason  for  their  shame.  xAs  each  group 
was  paid  it  strolled  off  towards  the  town,  without  a 
word  of  farewell,  affording  a  contrast  to  all  the 
salaams,  gun-firings,  and  even  handshakes  which  had 
accompanied  their  advent.  By  the  laws  of  Gildessa 
every  light  must  be  out  and  every  citizen  abed  by  ten, 
but  the  laws  had  evidently  been  relaxed  in  my  honour, 
for  it  was  now  close  on  midniofht. 

Next  night  I  camped  at  Balawa,  the  last  stage 
before  Harrar ;  and  after  my  dinner  the  whole  village 
turned  out  as  a  matter  of  course.  I  was  for  sending 
the  folk  away,  imagining  that  their  performance  would 
be  but  a  poor  repetition  of  the  dance  at  Gildessa. 
However  they  persisted,  and  I  was  rewarded  for  my 
patience  by  quite  a  different  and  interesting  spectacle. 
When  it  beean  I  thought  it  was  "oinof  to  be  the  old 
business  over  aoain.  The  usual  semicircle  was  formed 
for  the  usual  dance  by  two  men,  who  stamped  the 
ofround  with  le^rs  of  iron,  and  brandished  cutlasses  as 
if  about  to  cut  throats  instantly.  Then  a  couple  of 
small  boys  went  through  the  same  evolutions  and 
acquitted  themselves  by  no  means  badly,  though  their 
tendency  was  to  exaggerate  everything.  I  was  for 
retiring,  when  the  word  arrived  that  the  women  were 
about  to  perform.  I  remembered  the  women  of 
Gildessa  and  was  not  hopeful,  but  I  waited  awhile 
from  courtesy. 

Mats  were  spread  out,  and  some  four  or  five 
women  came  forward  and  knelt  in  a  row.  They 
knelt   bolt    upright    and    waited.     Several  minutes 


THROUGH  THE  LAND  OF  LIONS  105 


elapsed  in  silence.  Then  a  number  of  men  came 
and  knelt  down,  one  opposite  each  woman.  Soon 
the  men  beofan  to  erowl  and  bark  like  beasts. 
Gradually  the  noise  grew  louder  and  wilder,  the 
men  knelt  up  and  drew  closer  and  closer  to  the 
women,  yet  never  came  into  actual  contact.  The 
men  swayed  their  heads  and  bodies  all  the  while 
right  and  left,  up  and  down,  and  gradually  their 
sharp  barks  took  shape  in  a  long,  crooning, 
rumbling  growl,  in  which  declarations  of  love 
could  presently  be  distinguished.  It  was  really  a 
horrible  sight,  and  there  was  a  feeling  of  frenzy 
in  the  air.  All  this  growling  and  swaying  had 
evidently  induced  a  hypnotic  state,  as  they  do  in 
the  howling  dervishes  at  Constantinople.  Their 
eyes  glistened  and  seemed  ready  to  start  out  of 
their  heads,  all  their  muscles  twitched  and  shivered 
with  excitement,  their  hands  and  lips  came  within  a 
hair's  breadth  of  those  of  the  women,  yet  never 
actually  touched.  The  men  began  to  show  signs  of 
exhaustion  and  sank  back  upon  their  heels  ever 
more  frequently,  till  at  last  they  slunk  away  defeated, 
giving  place  to  other  men,  who  had  also  to  retire 
discomfited  after  awhile. 

And  all  the  time  the  women  remained  kneeling  bolt 
upright,  silent  and  sphinx-like,  merely  wagging  their 
heads,  first  down,  then  right,  then  left,  then  up, 
and  so  on  apparently  for  ever.  Their  long  mats 
of  hair  followed  the  motions  comet-like  in  the  air, 
and  their  big  silver  bracelets  afforded  a  sort  of 
Castanet  accompaniment.      Save    for   an  occasional 


io6 


ABYSSINIA 


shiver  and  something  of  a  hypnotic  stare  in  their 
large,  glistening  eyes,  they  never  betrayed  a  vestige 
of  emotion.  Nor  did  they  ever  show  a  trace  of 
fatigue.  Men  after  men  gave  way  and  retired,  but 
they  remained  bolt  upright,  wagging  their  heads 
without  a  second's  intermission,  mutely  challenging 
more  men  to  come  and  kneel  before  them.  I  am 
told  that  sometimes  they  will  go  on  like  this  all 
night — from  six  or  seven  in  the  evening  until  dawn 
— and  never  tire  ;  nay,  that  if  there  were  enough  men 
to  last  out,  they  would  remain  kneeling  and  nodding 
until  they  were  turned  into  stone. 

This  possesses  a  real  interest  apart  from  the 
mere  mystery  of  the  barbaric  scene,  for  it  must  be 
a  survival  of  some  old  Pagan  love-rite.  Perhaps 
the  strangest  part  of  the  symbolism  is  the  fact  that 
the  women  always  come  out  victors  in  the  strife, 
and  this  in  a  country  where  women  are  held  in 
such  light  esteem. 


Chapter  V 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 

Approaching  Harrar — An  Ancient  and  Mysterious  Town — Rocky 
Streets — The  Harrari — The  Lion  Hotel — ^Wild  Scavengers — 
Bazaars — A  Paradise  for  Small  Incomes — A  Health  Resort — 
Farming — Openings  for  Labour — Mining — Imperial  Attentions 
— Delays  at  Harrar— Lake  Aramaya — Forests — A  Telephone 
Station — Hawash  River — An  iVlarm  in  the  Desert — Shoa — A 
Fairy  Ride — Sad  Somalis. 

A  VERY  few  days  after  leaving  the  Somali  coast,  a 
red  and  white  flaof  over  a  oruard-house  informed 
me  that  I  was  in  the  territory  of  the  Negus.  But 
many  long  marches  had  to  be  passed  through  Somalis 
and  Gallas  and  other  Muhammadan  blacks  before  I 
could  persuade  myself  that  I  had  reached  Abyssinia. 
It  was  very  much  as  though  I  had  set  out  from  the 
Welsh  coast  to  join  Prince  Charlie  at  Derby,  and 
found  myself  always  in  a  land  which  belonged  to 
England  but  yet  was  not  England. 

If  a  village  seemed  a  marvel  at  Gildessa,  how 
incredible  it  was  to  reflect  that  at  length  I  drew 
near  to  a  town — the  only  town  indeed  which  I 
should  see  during  my  thousand-mile  journey,  the 
only  real  town,  Menelik  imout !  ^  to  be  found  within 
His  Majesty's  dominions. 

'  By  the  death  of  Menelik  ! — I  really  must  begin  to  swear  in 
Abyssinian. 

107 


io8 


ABYSSINIA 


By  rights  this  town  should  still  belong  to  Egypt, 
and  therefore  be  administered  by  Britain,  but  our 
ministers  cannot  be  expected  to  reflect  upon  more 
than  one  subject  at  once,  and  other  nations,  who 
are  less  absent-minded,  profit  accordingly.  So  now 
Harrar  is  administered  by  Abyssinia. 

Up  precipitous  torrent-beds,  along  the  sides  of 
wild  valleys  I   pushed  forward  in  my  frenzy  for  a 


AX  ABYSSINIAN  GUARDHOUSE. 

(Photoi^raph  by  Captain  Powell-Cottox.) 

town.  After  what  I  had  passed  through  it  was 
already  something  to  behold  human  habitations  of  the 
summer-house  pattern,  woods,  grass,  flowers  no 
longer  desiccated,  fields  under  cultivation,  and — 
wonder  of  wonders  ! — the  ripple  of  running  water. 
A  tuft  of  maiden-hair  fern  seemed  the  first-fruit  of 
a  Promised  Land.  It  began  to  grow  cool  upon 
the  mountains  of  Gildessa.     Heiorho  !  the  relief. 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


109 


But  the  last  stage,  like  the  last  straw,  was  the 
east  endurable.  The  track  grew  ever  rougher.  It 
was  impossible  to  ride.  Walking  became  painful. 
There  seemed  a  greater  solitude  among  the  trees 
than  in  the  boundless  plain,  where  solitude  is  more 
at  home.  And  the  surroundings  were  uncanny. 
There    were    horrible-lookino-    cacti,    such    as  one 


AITROACHI.XG  IIAKRAK. 


meets  in  nightmares,  and  I  could  fancy  they  were 
hua-e  snake-trees  or  veo^etable  devil-fish.  At  a  tiq-ht 
corner,  one  of  these  had  fallen  dowm  and  I  had 
to  creep  beneath  its  tentacles,  expecting  every 
moment  that  it  would  seize  and  suck  me  in. 
Huge  rats  scurried  away  to  their  crannies.  I  came 
upon  a  mule,  long  dead,  filling  up  the  middle  of 
the  road  and  stinking. 


I  lO 


ABYSSINIA 


At  last,  after  much  deferred  hope,  I  strained  my 
eyes  from  a  height  and  espied  a  white  building 
upon  a  broad  brown  hill,  yes,  and  a  tall  white 
minaret  hard  by. 

There  is  Harrar,"  said  Abdi. 

Where  ?  " 

Straight  w^here  you  stare.  There.  Thcrcy 
I  stared  bravely  for  some  seconds,  but  saw  only  the 
white  building  and  the  minaret  upon  the  brown  hill. 
Perhaps  the  surface  of  the  hill  was  somewhat  strange. 
No,  that  could  not  be  the  town  of  Harrar,  unless  the 
Harrari  dwelt  in  ant-hills.  Not  ant-hills,  perhaps, 
but  very  like  ant-hills  are  these  khaki  edifices, 
which  only  the  expert  eye  can  distinguish  from  the 
brown  hill  whereon  they  rest.  Like  the  ramifica- 
tions of  an  ant-hill  or  a  rabbit-warren  are  those 
serried  w^alls  and  mazy  streets  and  sunbaked  build- 
ings which  are  your  first  impression  of  this  ancient 
and  mysterious  capital.  Tempted  to  dwell  too  much 
upon  the  tedium  of  my  journey  hither,  I  must  re- 
member that,  less  than  fifty  years  ago,  a  Christian 
might  only  enter  Harrar  with  his  life  in  his  hand. 
At  least  Burton,  who  was  often  tempted  to  magnify 
his  exploits,  tells  us  so.  The  walls  appear  of  great 
strength,  and  the  turreted  gateway  (one  of  five) 
may  only  be  approached  by  a  sharp  ascent,  which 
affronts  my  mule  even  after  all  he  has  gone  through. 
I  expect  to  be  challenged  by  the  tattered  Abyssinian 
police,  who  are  lounging  outside  a  guard-house,  but 
they  content  themselves  with  eyeing  me  in  suspicious 
silence,  and  I  pass  in.     I  find  myself  amid  a  miniature 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


1 1 1 


market,  and  my  retainers  must  force  a  way  for  my 
mule  through  a  throng  of  Hstless  peasants,  who  are 
there  to  sell  the  produce  of  the  countryside.  I 
scramble  up  a  pathway  which  suggests  the  side  of 
a  ruined  wall,  and  then  the  narrow  streets  of  the 
human  warren  begin. 

The  roads  of  Somaliland  were  bad  enough,  but 


A  STREpyr  IN  HARRAR. 


the  streets  of  Harrar  are  even  worse.  Once  upon 
a  time,  in  the  dark  ages,  they  must  have  been 
paved.  Now  the  only  remains  of  pavement  are 
jagged  white  rocks  and  deep  ruts  or  hollows,  which 
act  as  pitfalls  for  any  creature  less  agile  than  a 
goat.  My  friend,  the  British  Consular  Agent,  when 
he  takes  me  out  to  see  the  sights,  is  never  tired  of 


ABYSSINIA 


jesting  over  these  incomparable  streets.  "  Here," 
says  he,  pointing  to  a  precipitous  torrent-bed, 
where  we  must  leap  gingerly  from  boulder  to 
boulder, — ''here  is  Northumberland  Avenue;  there," 
he  goes  on,  scrambling  into  a  muck-heap  to  avoid 
a  flock  of  tiny  white  donkeys, — "there  is  New 
Bond  Street."  It  is  fortunate  that  there  are  no 
wheeled  conveyances  in  Harrar,  for  they  would 
fare  ill. 

The  word  Abyssinian  means  mongrel,  but  that 
epithet  would  apply  far  more  appropriately  to  the 
people  of  Harrar.  Here  Somalis,  Gallas,  Arabs, 
Egyptians,  Danakils — the  Lord  only  knows  how 
manv  other  folk — dwell  to^rether  and  intermarrv. 
Themselves  have  long  abandoned  the  attempt  to 
distinguish,  and  know  each  other  impartially  as  Har- 
rari.  They  have  even  evolved  a  distinct  language 
of  their  own,  which  no  other  townsmen  have  ever 
done  before  or  since.  The  onlv  recoQ^nised  difference 
is  between  these  Moslems  and  the  Christian  Abys- 
sinians,  who  are  alien  conquerors  and  officials  rather 
than  inhabitants.  Even  the  Moslems,  however,  have 
acquired  here  something  of  the  Abyssinian  contempt 
for  the  ferenji  (Frank,  or  European).  No  one  steps  out 
of  your  way  unless  you  raise  your  stick,  which  is  not 
always  wise.  Men  walk  straight  at  you  with  huge 
sacks  on  their  heads  and  women  staooer  forward 
beneath  immense  sheaves  of  fuel,  brushing  both 
walls  at  once. 

Somewhat  short  of  breath  and  temper,  I  reached 
the  chief  square,  which  is  flanked  on  one  side  by  the 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


113 


round  Abyssinian  Cathedral,  on  the  other  side  by 
Ras  (Prince)  Makonnen's  palace,  whose  high  gate- 
way is  adorned  with  a  fringe  of  elephants'  tails. 
Here  was  a  posse  of  ragged  warriors,  whose  chief 
occupation  seems  to  consist  in  climbing  the  wall  and 
blowing  bugles— evidendy  a  favourite  instrument  with 


ENTRANCE  TO  RAS  MAKONNEN's  PALACE,  IIARRAR. 
{Photograph  by  Captain  Powell-Cottox.) 


the  Abyssinian.  After  wrangles  with  the  Customs 
and  Garasmach  Banti,  the  Acting  Governor,  I  made 
my  way  to  the  French  hotel,  and  suddenly  emerged 
upon  something  very  like  civilisation.  A  number  of 
Europeans  were  congregated  round  a  billiard-table 
with  absinthe  at  their  elbows,  and  the  landlord  asked 
me  casually  when  I  should  like  my  shower-bath. 

I 


114 


ABYSSINIA 


The  entrance  was  through  a  long,  low  shop,  by  no 
means  badly  stocked,  and  some  steps  led  me  down 
to  a  courtyard  and  the  queerest  bedroom  I  ever  slept 
in.  It  suggested  a  temple  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  was, 
I  learned,  of  Egyptian  construction.  On  entering  by 
an  enormous  wooden  door  I  was  confronted  by  a  pro- 
jecting stoup  as  though  for  holy  water.  A  recess  for 
my  bed  was  surrounded  by  alcoves  in  the  plastered 


1 

1 

! 

1 
I 

THE  GATE  WITH  THE  ELEPHANTS'  TAILS. 


wall,  like  tombs  of  the  Ptolemies.  To  the  right  of 
this  was  a  bamboo  screen  with  a  raised  platform  for 
a  trellis  bed,  which  faced  a  dark  cave,  where  rats 
disported  themselves  by  night.  To  the  left  was  an 
earthen  whitewashed  screen  and  a  wooden  shutter, 
as  of  a  harem  window.  This  concealed  the  welcome 
shower-bath  and  led  to  another  cave  furnished  with 
a  mud  divan  all  round  its  walls.    There  were  holes 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


in  the  porous  lloor  for  emptying  slops,  and  zebra-skins 
took  the  place  of  carpets.  After  the  desert  this  was 
almost  luxury.  The  joy  of  sleeping-  again  on  a  real 
bedstead  and  the  strange  noises  of  the  night  made 
me  dream  I  was  in  another  planet.  Ever  and 
anon  the  lono-  chaunt  of  the  watchmen  broke  the 
stillness  of  the  night  mysteriously  without — some- 
thing between  the  horror  of  a  female  singing  scales 
and  the  music  of  the  muezzin.  Guiis  kept  going  off. 
Hyenas  howled  so  near  that  I  was  moved  to  barricade 
my  cumbrous  door. 

All  the  scavenging  of  Harrar  is  done  by  kindly 
hyenas  and  accommodating  jackals.  There  are  holes 
in  the  town  walls  for  them  to  creep  in  after  dusk  and 
disappear  at  dawn.  As  in  France  the  householder 
places  his  refuse  in  a  pile  outside  his  door  and  the 
municipal  cart  comes  round  before  breakfast  to  clear 
it  off,  so  here  he  deposits  it  and  counts  upon  the 
services  of  wild  beasts.  I  have  even  heard  them 
howling  in  the  courtyard  of  the  inn.  The  land 
lord's  nephew  told  me  how  he  was  walking  home 
one  night  when  suddenly  two  hyenas  dashed  along  the 
street  (Northumberland  Avenue  or  New  Bond  Street, 
I  forget  which)  pursued  by  a  crowd  of  dogs.  Hyenas 
are  too  cowardly  to  attack  a  man  in  cold  blood,  but 
their  jaws  are  almost  as  formidable  as  those  of  tigers, 
and  he  might  have  received  a  bad  bite  as  they  passed. 
So  he  shot  over  a  wall  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  and 
had  all  the  difficulty  in  the  world  to  satisfy  the 
Moslem  family  he  had  so  unceremoniously  dis- 
turbed.    I   have  alwavs    held  that  no  drainage  is 


ii6 


ABYSSINIA 


safer  than  bad  drainage,  but  die  Harrari  system 
does  not  stand  the  test  of  epidemics.  Once  started, 
they  soon  assume  dangerous  proportions.  The  last 
time  cholera  visited  Harrar  the  men  died  like  flies, 
and  the  women  only  escaped  starvation  by  eating 
their  own  children. 

The  streets  of  Harrar  are  not  inviting  by  night, 
and  I  think  I  only  frequented  them  once  when  I  was 
returning  from  an  Abyssinian  wedding.  You  are 
confronted  by  intense  loneliness  and  a  darkness 
which  may  be  felt.  Any  native  who  ventures  forth 
is  promptly  arrested,  unless  he  be  in  attendance  on 
an  European  or  an  official.  You  must  have  men 
ahead  and  men  behind  to  hold  out  lanterns  and 
warn  you  of  boulders  and  pitfalls  or  prevent  your 
stepping  upon  a  growling  pariah  dog. 

In  Harrar  there  is  little  to  see,  but  much  to 
observe.  The  place  is  full  of  contrasts.  Menelik's 
telephone  wire  stands  out  against  a  minaret  or  a 
mud  cabin  ;  you  step  out  from  table  cT hotc  to  en- 
counter a  three-legged  race,  which  turns  out  to  be 
merely  a  prisoner  manacled  to  his  gaoler ;  in  the 
principal  square  you  are  sickened  with  the  smell  of 
ordure ;  you  step  into  the  bazaar,  and  every  shop 
is  provided  with  a  little  bowl  of  incense  which 
wafts  a  subtle  fragrrance  on  the  foetid  air. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  impression  made  upon  me 
by  the  meat  market  there.  Instead  of  hanging  their 
scraggy  bits  of  cat's-meat  on  clothes-lines,  as  the 
Somalis  do,  the  natives  exposed  them  in  large  ill- 
hacked  joints  on  long  wooden  tables  saturated  with 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


11/ 


the  blood  and  filth  of  o'enerations.    The  stench  was 
something    indescribable,    and    the    hustling,  eager 
customers  suggested  a  pack  of  hounds  invading  a 
knacker's  yard.    As  for  the  bazaars,  their  contents 
are   rather  useful  than  ornamental.      I   had  hoped 
to  bring    back   many  strange   characteristic  things 
in    common    use  among    the    people,  but    on  the 
whole  I  was  considerably  disappointed.     I  gathered 
together  a  small  collection  of  the  jewellery  of  the 
Somali    and    Abyssinian    peasants.     Mr.  Theodore 
Bent  asserted  in  his  "  Sacred  City  of  the  Ethio- 
pians "  that    these   were    of   Greek    origin,    but  I 
am  convinced  that  the  patterns  are  either  derived 
from  India  or  else  adapted  by  Indian  artificers  from 
some  aboriginal  design.     Filigree  work  predominates, 
and  the  only  difference  between  the  two  is  that  the 
Somali  is  heavier  and  more  barbaric.     I  have  secured 
great  necklaces  of  silver  beads,  provided  for  both 
nations,   with  a  hollow  cylinder  of  silver  in  front, 
destined  to  contain  an  amulet.    The  bracelets  are 
kept  together   by  sturdy   screws,   the   earrings  are 
enormous  and  fitted  with  a  beard  of  silver  tongues 
such   as   might  serve  in   very  small   bells.      It  is 
only  necessary  to   look  at   my  collection   in  order 
to  feel  certain  that  all  the  jewellery  must  have  had 
a  common  origin.    Another  argument  on  behalf  of 
India  is  that  both  Somalis  and  Abyssinians  wear  a 
great  many  ornaments  which  admittedly  come  from 
India,  the  most  obvious  being  snake-like  coloured 
glass  bangles,  which  may  be  bought  anywhere  in 
Aden  for  an  anna  or  two. 


ii8 


ABYSSINIA 


The  essentially  Abyssinian  ornaments  are  very  few. 
Chief  amongst  them  are  a  silver  or  silver-gilt  ring, 
a  cross,  and  an  ear-pick,  which  three  are  almost 
invariably  worn  upon  a  blue  string  round  the  neck, 
rhey  must  have  some  symbolical  meaning",  but  what 
it  is  in  the  case  of  the  ear-pick  I  have  tried  in  vain 
to  discover.  What  connection  it  can  have  with  a 
cross  and  a  ring  is  a  puzzle.  The  blue  cord,  called 
mateb,  is  worn  universally  as  a  badge  of  Christianity, 
and  is  more  readily  recognised  than  even  a  cross. 
Native  crosses  with  all  sorts  of  strange  and  venerable 
designs  are  to  be  found,  but  it  is  difficult  to  induce 
their  owners  to  part  with  them.  The  only  one  I  have 
secured  is  silv^er  gilt,  and  has  upon  it  a  pattern  of  the 
tree  of  life,  which  experts  assure  me  is  of  Celtic 
origin,  though  how  it  could  be  so  I  am  utterly  at  a 
loss  to  say. 

I  have  also  some  curious  horn  and  wucker  goblets, 
some  wooden  neck  pillows,  which  the  women  affect  so 
that  their  greasy  headdress  may  not  be  disturbed  ;  a 
peculiar  hairpin  of  gilt  filigree  pattern,  worn  over  the 
ear ;  an  Abyssinian  lyre,  very  like  the  old  Roman 
instrument  and  similar  to  that  always  played  by  King 
David  in  an  Abyssinian  picture,  and  a  violin  with 
a  drum  sounding-board  and  an  absurd  bow,  such  as 
might  be  used  by  a  child  for  projecting  toy  arrows. 
This  also  appears  in  the  pictures  as  supplying  the 
traditional  music  for  the  death  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 
What  pleases  me  perhaps  most  to  exhibit  is  a  quiver 
full  of  poisoned  arrows,  from  the  Ogaden  country,  as 
people  who  take  them  out  and  play  with  them  are 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


119 


always  desperately  afraid  of  impregnating  themselves 
with  poison.  This  poison,  however,  is  probably  not 
so  dangerous  as  most  people  imagine,  for  Count 
Leontieff's  doctor  told  me  that  when  one  of  their 
party  was  hit  by  a  poisoned  arrow  the  wound  rapidly 
yielded  to  the  ordinary  treatment  for  snake-bites. 

Abyssinia  is  no  place  for  fortune-hunters,  but  I  am 
inclined  to  agree  with  certain  residents,  who  represent 
Harrar  as  an  ideal  residence  for  sportsmen  with  small, 
reo'ular  incomes.  You  mioht  build  vourself  a  countrv 
house  of  sorts,  keep  fifteen  servants  and  half  a  dozen 
horses,  and  spend  all  your  time  riding  or  shooting  on 
less  than  ^600  a  year.  As  for  food,  you  would  shoot 
a  o-reat  deal  of  it,  but  vou  mav  also  buv  a  verv  fine 
sheep  for  7s.  6d.  to  9s.  6d.,  an  enormous  ox  for  less 
than  ^4,  a  plump  chicken  for  a  shilling,  and  so  on  in 
proportion.  The  only  expensive  things  are  the  im- 
ported ones,  and  you  would  have  to  reduce  your  need 
of  them  to  a  minimum.  You  would  soon  be  able  to 
grow  fruit  and  vegetables,  which  are  now  practically 
non-existent,  and  call  other  luxuries  into  being.  And 
your  wardrobe  would  not  weigh  down  your  exchequer. 
Harrar  is  not  critical  about  fashions,  and  a  score  of  khaki 
suits  at  a  pound  or  so  each  would  last  you  a  lifetime. 
The  chief  drawbacks  would  be  the  loneliness  and  the 
difficulty  of  getting  away  :  that  endless  journey  to  the 
coast  every  time  you  wanted  to  go  home.  There  is 
of  course  the  prospect  of  the  railway  from  [ibuti.  but 
if  by  any  remote  chance  it  ever  does  come  to  any- 
thing, many  of  Harrar's  advantages  will  disappear 
with  the  drawbacks.     Quidnuncs  and  olobe-trotters 


120 


ABYSSINIA 


will  come,  native  simplicity  will  vanish,  prices  will 
rise,  even  game  laws  may  be  called  into  existence. 

For  a  delicate  man  a  sojourn  at  Harrar  might  spell 
salvation.  I  have  already  alluded  to  the  astounding 
robustness  with  which  my  journey  has  endowed  me. 
And  that  is  after  enduring  a  varietv  of  extremes,  beinor 
parched  one  week  and  drenched  the  next,  alternately 
gasping  and  shivering,  sleeping  in  fever-swamps  and 
witnessing  a  drop  of  40^  of  the  thermometer  at  sunset. 
Harrar,  however,  supplies  the  golden  mean.  For  the 
whole  year  the  extremes  of  temperature  are  63°  and 
82°  ;  during  eight  months  the  variation  rarely  exceeds 
71°  and  75°.  The  town  is  some  6,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  the  air  will  give  that  of  many 
Alpine  health  resorts  points.  For  any  lung  complaint 
it  is  a  sovereign  remedy,  and  asthma  is  conjured  as 
thouo-h  bv  mao-ic.  The  rainv  season  lasts  for  three 
or  four  months.  It  is  inaugurated  by  several  days 
of  Scots  mist  ;  then  come  heavy  storms,  lasting  for 
two  hours  at  most  out  of  the  twenty-four,  and 
o:enerallv  considerate  enoui>'h  to  choose  the  nio-ht- 
time  for  their  visits.  However,  I  am  perfectly 
willing  to  lay  a  thousand  to  three  that  no  one  will 
choose  Harrar  as  a  health  resort,  thouj^h  I  extol 
temperature,  air,  and  storms  never  so  wisely.  Pockets 
nowadays  take  precedence  of  lungs. 

But  I  am  considering  that  amphibious  creature,  the 
indi\  idual  with  a  moderate  income,  that  "tweeny  man 
who  rules  the  modern  roast.  Happy  thought  :  he 
shall  farm  ! 

Practically    nothing    of    the    sort    has    yet  been 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


121 


attempted  in  the  neighbourhood.  Wheat  is  scarcely 
sown  at  all.  Even  Indian  corn  is  but  sparingly 
produced,  though  every  attempt  has  afforded  crops 
of  amazing  luxuriance.  The  lazy,  careless  native 
contents  himself  for  the  most  part  with  growing 
durra,  a  weedy  corn  which  almost  sows  and  reaps 
itself,  and,  in  a  good  year,  may  be  relied  upon  for 
two  crops.  His  notions  of  agriculture  are  primitive 
in  the  extreme.  His  spade  consists  of  a  sharp-pointed 
stick  with  a  kind  of  mushroom  handle.  He  plunges 
it  lazily  sideways  into  the  ground  and  twists  it  slowly 
round  and  round,  with  the  result  that  he  does  little 
more  than  scrape  the  surface.  He  has  a  poor  sort  of 
plough,  but  does  not  trouble  to  eradicate  the  stubble  ; 
it  is  so  much  simpler  to  set  light  to  it  and  risk  a 
forest  fire  hard  by.  Anything  so  arduous  as  coffee- 
planting  is  left  to  the  care  of  the  Gallas,  who  remain 
more  or  less  in  the  position  of  serfs.  The  coffee  is 
exported  as  Moka,  and  a  Frenchman  defended  this 
to  me  on  the  score  that  the  plants  had  originally 
come  from  Yemen.  The  trade,  of  course,  knows  the 
difference,  calling  Abyssinian  coffee  "long-berry,"  and 
Arabian  "short-berry  Moka."  The  odd  thing  is  that 
in  Arabia  no  trouble  is  taken  to  irrigate,  while  in 
Abyssinia  there  is  much  irrigation  and  an  inferior 
result. 

There  need  be  no  limit  to  the  produce  which 
might  be  extorted  from  so  much  virgin  soil.  Similarly 
a  little  science  would  soon  transfiorure  the  native 
cattle.  The  sheep  possess  an  unrivalled  capacity  for 
fattening,  their  tails  readily  putting  on  several  pounds 


122 


ABYSSINIA 


of  fat  and  leaving  the  bodies  to  put  on  the  most 
exquisite  lean.  Indeed  it  might  be  worth  while  to 
experiment  with  this  breed  in  England — this  con- 
siderate breed  which  relegates  all  its  fat  to  the  tail. 
Similarly  the  oxen  are  merely  sent  out  to  pasture 
and  left  to  take  their  chance,  whereas,  if  properly  fed, 
they  would  yield  good  and  abundant  meat.  The 
cows  again  give  very  little  milk  merely  from  lack 
of  nutriment.  Money,  too,  might  be  made  out  of 
breeding  donkeys.  In  Abyssinia  they  are  larger  than 
in  Egypt,  and  no  less  intelligent.  Indeed,  all  the 
domestic  animals  are  far  more  human  than  they  would 
be  in  Europe,  probably  because,  like  the  Irish  pig, 
they  share  the  hovels  of  their  masters.  And  a 
gastronomic  missionary  might  introduce  veal.  At 
present  your  over-canny  Abyssinian  will  not  slay  a 
beast  before  it  is  full  grown. 

Now  for  the  drawbacks.  Land  is  not  for  sale. 
It  may  be  leased,  but  only  with  difficulty  and  at  an 
undue  rent.  An  Abyssinian  prefers  to  make  nothing 
out  of  his  property  rather  than  to  alienate  it  to  a 
foreigner.  If  ever  the  country  is  to  be  developed 
(always  a  doubtful  advantage  for  a  country),  there 
must  be  some  drastic  modification  of  the  land  tenure. 
And  cattle  suffer  much  from  epizootic  disease.  The 
natives  have  a  remedy,  which  is  said  to  yield  excellent 
results.  Here  is  the  prescription.  Collect  the  urine 
of  a  beast  that  is  seriously  sick.  Allow  it  to  putrefy, 
mix  it  with  milk,  and  offer  it  to  the  healthy.  They 
ail  for  a  while  but  recover,  and  are  then  proof  against 
infection.     No   one    knows  who  devised    this  pro- 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


123 


phylactic.  It  is  doubtless  mere  peasant's  empiricism, 
but  it  has  proved  so  successful  that  it  deserves  the 
notice  of  the  faculty.  If  the  subject  were  properly 
studied  and  the  right  degree  of  putrefaction  were 
ascertained  there  mio-ht  be  results  useful  to  the  world 
at  large.  The  Emperor  IMenelik,  who  takes  a 
perennial  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  subjects,  has 
commissioned  a  French  doctor,  with  the  German 
name  of  Wurst,  to  investigate  the  question.  The 
friends  of  cattle  must  look  out  for  the  results  of  his 
researches. 

If  I  recommended  any  one  to  go  and  settle  at 
Harrar,  it  would  be  the  small  man,  the  labourer  or 
mechanic,  who  finds  it  hard  to  make  both  ends  meet 
at  home.  I  talked  to  a  young  French  carpenter  who 
has  set  up  there  and  finds  more  employment  than 
he  can  cope  with.  Having  no  competitors,  he  can 
charge  what  he  pleases,  and  must  be  putting  by  a 
pretty  penny.  If  any  one  chose  to  go  out  and  make 
bricks  or  pottery  or  plaster  or  cement  or  glass,  he 
would  find  an  equally  open  field.  I  believe  there 
is  not  a  pane  of  glass  in  the  whole  town,  though 
the  European  residents  would  be  very  glad  to  get 
it.  Yet  there  is  plenty  of  sand,  which  would  make 
the  manufacture  possible,  and  the  soil  is  admirably 
adapted  for  making  pottery  and  even  porcelain.  The 
only  idea  of  the  natives  is  to  model  great  amphoras, 
capable  of  holding  30  to  35  litres,  with  their  hands, 
and  bury  them  in  great  heaps  of  durra-stalk  and 
weeds,  which  they  burn  for  a  day  or  two.  They  are 
quite  ignorant  of  the  use  of  the  wheel. 


124 


ABYSSINIA 


Mining  prospectors  might  also  come  and  look  round. 
So  far  no  serious  investioration  has  been  made,  thougrh 
I  am  given  to  understand  that  copper  and  iron 
certainly  exist.  As  to  coal,  nobody  knows.  But  the 
man  who  discovered  it  ought  to  make  his  fortune, 
for  combustibles  are  at  famine  prices.  The  Abyssinian 
plan  is  to  use  up  all  the  wood  near  a  town  and  then 
transfer  the  town  some  miles  away,  where  fresh  forests 
abound.  This  is  all  very  well  in  the  case  of  a  mere 
camp  like  the  capital,  but  Harrar  is  too  solid  and 
unwieldy  to  dream  of  such  nomadic  habits. 

But  the  one  insuperable  objection  remains  :  the 
monstrous  craft  and  subtlety  of  the  Abyssinian.  You 
or  I  might  spend  ourselves  and  our  treasures  in  dis- 
covering coal  or  copper  or  iron  or  gold  or  emeralds  ; 
we  might  call  new^  industries  into  being  and  establish 
an  era  of  prosperity  ;  but  the  Abyssinian  would  take 
all  the  profit,  and  we  should  be  left  out  in  the  cold. 

Not  long  ago  it  was  a  matter  of  some  difficulty  for 
any  European,  and  perhaps  more  particularly  for  an 
Englishman,  to  obtain  permission  to  travel  beyond 
Harrar.  Now,  thanks  to  the  prestige,  which  has 
been  restored  since  Captain  Harrington  was  sent  as 
Diplomatic  Agent  to  Menelik,  our  countrymen  are 
very  welcome.  1  had  scarcely  reached  Harrar  before 
the  Emperor  began  telephoning  to  hurry  me  on.  It 
appears  that  some  officious  person  had  told  him  that 
I  was  brino-inor  letters  for  him  from  the  Queen  of 
England.  The  only  source  I  can  conceive  for  such  a 
rumour  was  that  some  one  at  Aden  asked  me  if  I 
would  take  up  some  rose-trees  from  Queen  \^ictoria. 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


125 


I  replied  that  I  should  be  very  glad  to  oblige  a  lady, 
but  in  the  end  the  parcel  went  up  without  me. 

After  a  few  days  at  Harrar,  His  Majesty's  attentions 
became  almost  embarrassing.  Every  morning  there 
would  be  some  amiable  inquiry  about  me  by  telephone. 
-Why  had  I  not  started  ?  Had  the  Garasmach  or 
anybody  else  presumed  to  interfere  with  my  departure.'^ 
The  Garasmach  must  do  everything  in  his  power  to 
assist  me.  And  so  forth.  The  Garasmach,  who  was 
present  when  one  of  these  messages  arrived,  grew  quite 
nervous,  and  hastened  to  protest  that  he  had  not 
impeded  me  in  any  way.  Why  had  I  not  started  ? 
Because  the  mulemen  would  not  be  hurried.  I  have 
had  occasion  to  describe  the  vexations  which  I  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  my  camelmen,  but  they  were  docile 
lambs  or  angels  of  light  compared  to  the  infernal 
mulemen.  These  are  known  as  naofadis,  an  Amharic 
word  meaning  merchants,  but  they  are  really  nothing 
more  than  carriers.  If  you  send  luggage  with  them, 
they  usually  take  forty  or  fifty  or  even  sixty  days  to 
cover  the  291  miles  to  the  capital.  If  you  accompany 
them  you  must  probably  count  upon  a  journey  of  a 
month,  and  you  may  consider  yourself  very  lucky  or 
very  clever  if  you  induce  them  to  cover  the  ground  in 
three  weeks. 

Mr.  Gerolimato,  the  British  Consular  Agent,  kindly 
found  me  some  nagadis,  and  one  morning  a  number  of 
oily,  grinning  Abyssinians  strolled  into  my  bedroom 
before  I  was  up.  They  had  come  to  take  stock  of  my 
luggage  and  make  terms.  I  asked  how  long  we  should 
take  to  reach  Addis  Ababa.    There  was  a  long  pause 


126 


ABYSSINIA 


and  they  eyed  me  thoughtfully,  tryino-  to  sum  up  my 
character.     Well  what  did  I  think  of  thirty  days? 

Ridiculous!  That  was  less  than  ten  miles  a  day.  At 
the  very  least  I  must  cover  twenty  miles. 

The  grins  expanded  half  an  inch.  The  men  raised 
their  arms  and  aimed  with  imaginary  guns.  It  would 
be  a  pity  to  hurry.  I  should  be  sure  to  want  to  shoot 
on  the  way. 

No.  I  must  go  fast  in  order  to  reach  the  Court  for 
the  Christmas  festivities.  There  would  be  time  to 
shoot  on  the  way  back  if  I  wanted  to. 

With  considerable  reluctance  they  proposed  twenty- 
six  days.  I  suggested  fourteen.  A\'e  finally  com- 
promised it  at  twenty,  on  my  agreeing  to  take  several 
extra  mules,  pay  at  a  higher  rate,  and  promise  a  bonus 
of  one  dollar  per  mule  for  every  day  saved.  This  last 
proviso  seemed  to  provoke  vast  satisfaction,  the  grins 
grew  prodigiously,  and  I  flattered  myself  that  all 
would  go  very  well  indeed.  Little  did  I  know  the 
Abyssinian  muleman  ! 

Mr.  Gerolimato  smiled  mysteriously  when  I  confided 
my  hopes  to  him.  The  nagadis  had  said  they  would 
be  ready  to  start  on  the  morrow,  but  that,  he  explained, 
meant  that  they  would  come  and  sew  up  my  luggage 
in  cloth  coverino-  on  the  morrow,  but  that  I  should  be 
verv  luckv  if  I  o-ot  off  in  three  or  four  davs.  These 
three  or  four  days  passed,  but  the  wretches  gave  no 
sign  of  departure.  I  plied  them  with  messages  and 
remonstrances,  to  which  they  replied  politely,  but  still 
no  move  was  made.  Then  at  last  they  said  they 
really  would  start  on  the  morrow.     I  made  all  my 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


127 


final  preparations,  only  to  find  that  by  start  "  they 
merely  meant  start  to  fetch  their  mules,  which  were 
out  at  grass  three  days  away  owing  to  the  drought.  I 
was  for  throwing  up  these  provoking  people  and 
looking  out  for  others  in  their  stead,  but  Mr. 
Gerolimato  convinced  me  that  if  I  did  so  it  would 
mean  starting  in  ten  days'  time  at  the  earliest. 

After  about  a  week's  delay,  I  woke  up  one  mc^rning 
to  the  old  tumult  in  the  yard  outside  my  Egyptian 
bedroom.  "  Wariya,  Abdi !  "  "  Hajji-oooo!"  "Reggel- 
0000!"  "  Ba  Menelik ! "  the  voices  rang  out  to  an 
accompaniment  of  sawing,  hammering,  cackling, 
laughter,  and  general  jabbering.  High  above  all  was 
the  irritating  guttural  Ah — h  !  "  with  which  every 
Somali,  and  more  particularly  my  shikari,  the 
Pilgrim,  punctuates  his  remarks. 

I  passed  out  of  the  gates  of  Harrar  into  a  pitch  dark 
night.  The  going  was  over  something  between  hard 
earth  and  soft  rock,  interspersed  with  small  swamps. 
As  in  a  tract  or  religious  allegory,  the  road  began  quite 
broad  and  distinct,  presently  it  became  a  vague  path, 
then  a  marsh,  and  finally  we  found  ourselves  in  a 
hillocky  wilderness  with  pitfalls  all  round.  The 
Pilgrim  announced  that  we  had  lost  the  way,  and 
he  began  to  cast  about  with  his  lantern  in  circles, 
like  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  Presently  Abdi,  ever  the 
sharpest  of  my  party,  came  up  and  solved  the  difficulty. 
He  pointed  to  the  left  and  said,  "  There  is  the  photo- 
graph tree !  "  I  began  to  wonder  what  sort  of  new 
tropical  plant  this  might  be.  It  was  evidently  now  in 
its  dark-room.     Then   I   discovered  he  meant  the 


128 


ABYSSINIA 


telephone  pole,  which  marks  the  way  right  through 
to  Addis  xAbaba. 

We  followed  the  lines  until  we  came  to  the  camp  at 
Lake  Aramaya,  where  a  pleasing  repast  was  in  process 
of  preparation.  A  pretty  litde  lake,  covered  with  all 
kind  of  waterfowl,  and  approached  by  long  avenues 
of  candelabra-shaped  cactus,  with  which  I  was  destined 
to  become  vastly  familiar.  Unless  it  be  the  umbrella- 
pine,  there  is  no  tree  so  graceful  :  imagine  an  endless 
succession  of  grey-green  seven-branched  candlesticks, 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  like  a  vision  of  the  loot  of 
Jerusalem.  Cut  one  of  them  and  a  thick  milky  juice 
spurts  out.  Mine  host  of  the  "Lion"  at  Harrarwent  out 
one  day  to  see  if  he  could  not  use  it  as  indiarubber, 
but  he  was  incautious  enough  to  smear  some  into  his 
eyes,  and  it  blinded  him  for  days. 

The  journey  now  presented  a  great  contrast  to  the 
transit  of  Somaliland.  The  thermometer  went  down 
to  49°  in  the  night,  and  there  seemed  no  absurdity  in 
the  mulemen  wearing  thick  sheepskins  over  their 
shoulders.  What  an  easy  garment  :  a  mere  hole  for 
your  head,  and  here  is  a  natural  cloak.  And  the 
wilderness  v*^as  left  behind.  We  camped  on  the  grass 
of  an  English  park,  and  traversed  pleasing  stretches  of 
down  amid  a  vista  of  nodding  vellow  durra  and  endless 
acres  of  stubble.  Here  and  there  the  scenery  was 
varied  by  strange  black  patches,  where  this  stubble 
had  been  burnt  according  to  the  lazy  local  agriculture. 
Batches  of  cosy  little  thatched  summer-houses  nestled 
together  amid  shrubberies  of  candelabra  cactus,  not  so 
very  unlike  English  homesteads  and  attendant  farm- 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


129 


buildings.  My  camp,  as  I  approached  it  at  sunset, 
was  invariably  picturesque  with  tufts  of  blue  smoke 
rising  reluctantly  from  half  a  dozen  fires,  and  the 
whole  herd  of  mules  lounging  or  sniffing  in  every 
direction.  All  sorts  of  strange  smells  filled  the  air  and 
linger  in  my  memory. 

In  a  few  days  I  was  in  the  midst  of  mysterious 
forests.  There  were  gigantic  junipers  on  every  hand, 
here  and  there  graceful  trees  of  umbrella-shape  all 
clothed  in  a  tangle  of  shrubs  and  brambles.  At 
frequent  intervals  we  came  upon  charred  stumps  ;  now 
and  again  upon  a  small  forest  fire — a  cascade  of  blazing 
brambles,  crackling  up  a  ravine  and  attacking  a  large 
tree  right  up  to  the  topmost  branches,  while  a  stream 
of  pale  blue  smoke  wound  itself  away  into  the  forest. 
Many  jackals  bayed  in  chorus  afar  off.  The  sun  was 
hot,  but  a  fresh  breeze  sang  among  the  leaves.  Peer- 
ing through  a  gap  we  saw  beneath  us  low,  yellow  hills 
dotted  with  dark  green  shrubs,  further  away  higher 
hills  of  deeper  colour  and  thicker  vegetation,  finally  a 
boundless  plain  with  all  the  colours  of  a  kaleidoscope, 
fading  away  into  a  mist.  Let  me  sum  up  the  scenery 
by  suggesting  Switzerland  tempered  by  Sussex. 

Now  we  will  leave  to  the  imagination  of  artists  all  the 
lovely  woods,  russet  tints,  deep  green  shadows,  weep- 
ing lichens,  and  English-looking  parks.  Here  is  a 
telephone  station  in  the  heart  of  the  Galla  country. 
A  number  of  little  summer-houses  are  grouped 
together  inside  a  huge  stockade.  As  usual  the 
Abyssinian  officials  are  disobliging.  They  prefer  to 
go  on  with  their  eating  or  dozing,  and  it  is  quite  a 

K 


I30  ABYSSINIA 

long  time  before  we  can  unearth  an  unsavoury  in- 
dividual wearing  a  tattered  sheet,  and  induce  him  to 
unlock  the  call-office.  This  is  a  bare  hut  with  mud 
floor  and  mudded  walls,  to  which  the  instrument  is 
attached.  I  ring  up  the  Consul  at  Harrar,  but  by  the 
time  he  has  been  summoned,  this  poor  little  call-office 
is  thronged  with  Abyssinians,  most  inquisitive  of 
mortals.  One  actually  sits  down  on  my  bench  at 
close  quarters  and  resents  it  when,  misliking  his 
perfume,  I  push  him  off. 

At  first  the  x^Lbyssinians  condemned  the  telephone 
as  black  magic,  but  now  they  have  succumbed  to  its 
delight  as  a  toy.  In  their  country  you  cannot  enjoy 
the  luxury  of  a  private  conversation  over  the  lines,  for 
anybody  at  any  of  the  stations  has  only  to  put  the 
tubes  to  his  ear  and  listen.  This  the  man  in  charge 
does  nearly  all  day  long.  There  is  no  means  of 
isolation,  and  if  you  want  to  ring  up  one  place,  you 
must  ring  them  all  up  at  the  same  time.  It  is  also 
difficult  to  make  yourself  heard,  for  apart  from  the  fact 
that  monkeys  are  probably  dancing  on  the  wires  some- 
where, the  odds  are  that  half  a  dozen  natives  are  trying 
to  converse  at  the  same  time.  I  realised  the  drawbacks 
of  this  system  when  I  was  trying  to  spell  an  address  in 
Rome,  to  which  I  wanted  the  Consul  to  transmit  a 
message  by  post.  I  w^ould  shout  three  or  four  letters 
very  distinctly,  and  then  all  the  rest  would  be 
drowned  in  a  perfect  babel  of  squeaky  Abyssinian 
voices.  The  Government  is  fully  alive  to  this,  and 
sets  apart  so  many  hours  very  early  each  morning  for 
the  transmission  of  its  own  messages.    Then  a  posse  of 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA  131 

soldiers  is  posted  at  every  station  to  prevent  anybody 
from  listening.  Really,  I  found  it  almost  as  difficult 
to  converse  over  fifty  miles  of  Abyssinian  line  as  it  is 
between  London  and  Brighton,  the  which  is  saying  a 
good  deal. 

On  reaching  the  H awash  river,  I  found  the  only 
iron  bridge,  I  might  almost  say  the  only  bridge 
of  any   kind  which   exists   in   Abyssinia.      It  looks 


 ;  __J<i^  I 

FORDING  THE  HAWASH. 
{Pliofograph  by  CAPTAIN  Povvell-Cottox.) 

somewhat  unsteady,  and  must  wobble  about  alarm- 
ingly in  a  storm.  The  ravine  is  precipitously  deep, 
and  there  is  generally  a  fair  amount  of  water  in  the 
river.  When  the  ford  is  passable,  the  bridge  may  not 
be  used.  On  my  way  up  I  crossed  by  the  bridge,  but 
on  the  return  journey  I  had  to  use  the  ford,  though 
the  water  came  very  nearly  up  to  my  mule's  neck, 
and  I  fully  expected  that  his  sense  of  humour  would 


132  ABYSSINIA 

prompt  him  to  seize  the  opportunity  for  a  roll.  The 
Hawash  river  would  afford  an  excellent  text  for  a 
sermon.  From  small  beginnings  it  grows  up  into  a 
stream  of  very  fine  proportions,  and  it  sets  out,  as 
most  rivers  do,  to  make  its  way  to  the  sea.  But 
having  rashly  elected  to  take  the  desert  route,  it 
presently  loses  itself  in  the  sand  and  is  heard  of  no 
more.     Picture  to  yourself  all   the  energy  of  this 


FORI)IX(;  THE  HAWASH. 
{Pliotot<iapli  by  Capiaix  Powell-Cottox.) 


rushing  river,  bustling  and  splashing  and  roaring  and 
scurrying  throughout  all  eternity  only  to  lose  itself  in 
the  sand.     How  typical  of  the  French  nation  ! 

After  this  river  comes  another  waterless  desert, 
which  the  Somalis  and  Abyssinians  are  alike  terrified 
to  cross.  I  camped  just  over  the  ri\er,  and  when 
I  rose  next  morning  I  found  everybody  in  a  great 
state  of  perturbation.    "  Some  very  bad  men  on  the 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


133 


road  ;  they  kill  all  they  hnd,"  I  was  told.  I  ridiculed 
this,  but  my  servants  replied  by  pointing  to  a  small 
body  of  men,  perhaps  some  six  or  eight,  who  were 
roaming  about  hither  and  thither  in  the  jungle.  I 
suggested  it  might  be  a  caravan,  but  I  was  told  "No, 
a  caravan  he  cro  straiorht.  These  men  look  for  some 
one  to  kill."  Here  a  group  of  peasants  joined  us,  two 
men,  a  woman,  and  two  donkeys,  and  announced  that 


FORDING  THE  HAWASH. 
(Photograph  by  Captaix  Powell-Cottox.) 


they  were  going  to  travel  w^ith  me  to  have  my  pro- 
tection as  far  as  Tadechamalka  on  the  other  side 
of  the  desert.  One  of  them  w^ent  through  in 
pantomime  the  business  of  some  one  having  his  throat 
cut.  Presently  the  band  of  warriors  appeared  close 
to  the  camp  :  a  number  of  young  men  with  very 
black  shiny  bodies,  wearing  leopard  skins  over  their 
shoulders.      Each    rode    a   fine    white    horse  with 


134 


ABYSSINIA 


elaborate  trappings,  and  brandished  three  or  four 
spears  in  the  air.  My  men  brought  out  all  my  guns 
and  proceeded  to  load  them  ostentatiously,  setting 
their  teeth  and  seeming  annoyed  with  me  for 
laughing.  The  band  halted  a  few  yards  away  from 
my  breakfast  table  and  some  dismounted.  They 
began  to  talk  to  my  men,  who  answered  very 
curtlv  and  clutched  the  o-uns  somewhat  convulsively. 


FORDING  THE  HAWASH. 

(PJiofos^raph  by  Captain  Powell-Cotton.) 


It  occurred  to  me  that  the  group  would  make  an 
interesting  picture,  so  I  advanced  towards  it  with  my 
camera.  The  braves  watched  me  suspiciously,  just  as 
a  pack  of  wolves  might  do  under  similar  circumstances. 
Then  suddenly  some  one  gave  a  signal  and  they  all 
galloped  off  into  the  jungle  before  I  could  obtain  a 
satisfactory  snapshot.  My  men  said  these  people  must 
be  at  war  with  somebody,  and  I  saw  nothing  but 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


135 


anxious  faces  all  clay  on  the  march.  Again  and 
again  I  was  solemnly  entreated  not  to  go  too  far 
away  from  my  caravan,  lest  somebody  should  carry 
it  off!  I  asked  what  the  braves  had  said  when  they 
came  up,  and  was  told  that  they  had  said  they  were 
in  pursuit  of  antelopes.  "  But  you  no  believe  them, 
sah'b.  They  make  one  big  lie.  They  hunt  men, 
not  koodoo,  not  oryx,  not  aoul." 

I  think  it  was  at  beautiful  Minnabella  (a  place  with 
so  beautiful  a  name  was  bound  to  be  beautiful,  me- 
thought)  that  I  realised  I  was  in  the  kingdom  of  Shoa, 
the  predominant  partner  in  the  kingdom  of  kingdoms 
which  is  Ethiopia.  The  huts  were  more  picturesque 
than  any  I  had  seen  before,  and  stood  out  against  an 
exquisite  deep  green  background  of  trees  ;  there  were 
mysterious  purple  hills  with  strange  ridges  and  happy 
valleys  hard  by  ;  graceful  umbrella  mimosas  thick-set 
with  fragrant  golden  balls  ;  a  strange  round  church 
with  an  unfinished  amphitheatre  ;  and  genial  natives 
who  smiled  upon  me  as  Christians  and  gentlemen. 
Such  were  my  first  impressions,  too  soon,  alas,  to 
be  modified.  My  spirits  began  to  rise,  and  I  flattered 
myself  that  all  my  toil  and  moil  were  now  at  last  to 
find  their  reward. 

At  Minnabella  my  mulemen,  who  had  hitherto 
stedfastly  refused  to  travel  by  night,  unexpectedly 
announced  that  to  do  so  had  been  their  desire  all 
along.  Ah,  if  I  would  only  agree  to  this,  how  very 
much  faster  we  should  advance!  It  seemed  that  they 
had  formed  an  impression  that  I  was  not  an  early 
riser,  and  I  believe  they  were  greatly  disappointed 


136 


ABYSSINIA 


when  I  hastened  to  agree  to  their  proposal.  If  I  had 
refused,  what  an  excellent  answer  they  would  have 
had  to  any  complaints  I  might  make  about  the  slow- 
ness of  their  progression  !  So  we  arranged  to  start  at 
two  in  the  morning,  and  I  retired  to  rest  with  my 
boots  on,  my  staff  and  wallet  in  my  hand.  At  three 
I  awoke  and  found  the  whole  camp  plunged  in  snores. 
I  yelled  for  Abdi,  who  started  up  like  one  shot  and 
immediately  invented  an  excuse  about  the  clock  having 
stopped.  I  made  him  set  to  work  to  bustle  up  every- 
body, but  the  mulemen  w^ere  very  drowsy  and  sulky 
at  being  disturbed.  Never  had  they  been  so  slow  in 
collecting  and  loading  the  mules.  Wt  were  not  off 
until  ten  minutes  past  five. 

Never  have  I  beheld  so  wonderful  a  fairy  scene.  I 
was  riding  through  endless  shrubberies  of  mimosa, 
whose  golden  balls  and  silver  spikes  presented  the 
most  intoxicatino-  chansfes  of  colour  in  the  lio;ht  of 
the  full  moon,  under  the  soft  influence  of  the  false 
dawn,  and  in  the  orreat  fiood  of  crimson  which  accom- 
panied  the  rising  of  the  sun.  Under  ordinary  circum- 
stances I  miofht  have  ofrumbled,  for  the  cold  was 
bitino-  mv  festerinor  hands  were  a  shootinQ^  aofonv,  and 
my  mule  kept  coming  clown  on  his  nose  and  only 
recovering  his  balance  bv  a  miracle  of  luck.  More- 
over,  my  fool  of  a  shikari  contrived  to  make  me  lose 
the  way.  and  wasted  a  couple  of  hours  in  recovering 
it.  But  what  mattered  anything,  in  the  midst  of  such 
divine  surroundings,  with  every  bush  nodding  and 
waving  a  fragrant  censer  as  I  passed  ? 

For  two  or  three  days  before  reaching  the  capital 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


137 


we  had  to  do  without  wood  in  camp,  for  there  was 
scarcely  a  tree  to  be  seen.  Every  shrub  that  could 
possibly  be  used  for  firing  had  been  cleared  off  years 
ago.  For  a  while  we  existed  on  the  few  wooden 
boxes  that  could  be  spared  by  a  diligent  rearrange- 
ment of  provisions.  Then  we  had  to  be  content 
with  mules'  dung  for  fuel,  which  did  not  seem  to 
improve  the  flavour  of  my  toast.  Such  is  the 
scarcity  of  fuel  all  about  here  that  the  peasants 
are  in  the  habit  of  collecting  cows'  dung  and  making 
it  into  round  flat  cakes  which  they  sell  for  a  fair  price. 

It  was  pleasant  to  meet  plenty  of  people  about 
and  to  espy  quaint  thatched  villages  in  every  grove. 
Flowers  were  now  abundant,  including  the  red-hot 
poker  and  many  new  varieties  of  blossoms  already 
familiar  in  English  fields.  But  it  was  by  no  means 
the  ordinary  idea  of  tropical  vegetation.  Small  white 
butterflies  with  bright  scarlet  tips  flitted  about,  and 
one  fine  afternoon  I  actually  heard  the  voice  of  the 
cuckoo — a  cuckoo  in  January !  And  the  Abyssinians 
were  decidedly  more  interesting,  more  real  than  they 
had  seemed  in partibus  at  Harrar.  Each  wore  a  blue 
string  round  his  neck  to  proclaim  his  Christianity, 
and  there  were  few  who  did  not  shoulder  a  straw 
Robinson  Crusoe  umbrella. 

But  my  Somalis  were  as  fish  out  of  water.  They 
seemed,  like  myself,  to  be  forever  reflecting  how  far 
away  was  home.  In  their  own  country  they  put  no 
bounds  to  their  hilarity.  They  could  not  undertake 
the  lightest  duty  without  bursting  forth  into  some 
harsh  but  merry  song.     It  usually  took  the  form  of 


138 


ABYSSINIA 


an  aiitiphon.  The  Pil^Tim,  hammering  in  a  peg, 
would  chaunt  "  Salawak  salaku,"  and  a  tent- boy 
would  carol  forth  in  triumphant  reply,  "  Sukallo." 
"  Salawak  salaku,"  "Sukallo,"  they  would  retort  to 
each  other  for  ten  minutes  or  so  with  infinite  variety 
of  tone  and  expression.  On  the  march,  too,  they 
would  while  away  the  time  thus,  half  the  men  roaring 
one  word  and  the  others  capping  it  with  its  reply, 
Sukalegesh-Mnasahegeh,  Sukalegesh-Mnasahegeh, 
Sukalegesh-Mnasahegeh."  I  grew  rather  sick  of  it 
in  time. 

To  obtain  the  precise  meaning  of  these  phrases  was 
by  no  means  easy,  for  the  Somalis  are  not  good  at 
interpreting.  However.  I  gathered  the  kind  of  thing. 
It  was  as  though  we  exclaimed,  "  Soon  be  there — 
here  we  are.  soon  be  there — here  we  are  " — which 
would  probably  pass  the  time  as  well  as  many  a 
fashionable  diversion.  The  phrases  are  handed  down 
from  long  tradition,  like  our  own  nursery  rhymes,  and 
different  tribes  cherish  different  antiphons.  Some- 
times I  would  observe  a  man  of  one  tribe  teaching 
his  chaunt  to  men  of  another  tribe,  but  they  always 
reverted  to  their  own  very  soon.  Sometimes,  too, 
there  would  be  long,  iniprovised  chaunts,  which  it  was 
perhaps  as  well  I  did  not  understand.  One  man  would 
begin  w^ith  the  equivalent  of  half  a  verse  of  a  psalm, 
the  others  would  all  roar  it  after  him,  and  he  would 
oro  on  bv  the  hour.  I  heard  a  storv  of  a  ladv  who 
travelled  in  India,  her  bearers  not  knowing  that  she 
understood  their  lingo.  And  this  was  the  chaunt 
which  she  overheard:   "  \Miat  a  heavy  burden  we 


ENTERING  ABYSSINIA 


139 


carry ;  verily  this  woman  is  like  unto  a  moii-ou- 
ountain  !  " 

But  when  we  found  ourselves  in  Abyssinia,  Cad- 
wallo's  tongue  was  cold.  No  one  had  the  heart  to 
sing.  One  day  the  Pilgrim  tried  it.  He  hammered 
in  a  peg  and  cried,  "  Ahelleya."  There  was  no  spirit 
in  his  voice,  the  others  stared  at  him  in  a  melan- 
choly way  and  made  no  response.  He  tried  again  : 
*'Ahelleya."  Some  one  repeated  it  out  of  charity; 
then  they  all  burst  out  laughing.  What  a  feeble, 
pitiful  attempt  !  It  was  no  use.  They  must  wait 
until  they  were  back  once  more  amid  the  sunny  sands 
of  Somaliland. 


Chapter  VI 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 

Sport — Fearlessness  of  Game — Jackals — Antelopes — Elephants — 
Monkeys — A  Brush  with  a  Lioness — Birds — Flies — Locusts — 
Creeping  Things — Moths — Without  Matches — Rain  Everlasting 
— Sunburn — A  Mule  Caravan — Firing  Sore  Backs — Obstructive 
Mulemen — A  Crisis — A  Raid — I  Must  Draw  my  Revolver. 

Most  people  who  come  back  from  sporting  countries 
to  write  books  about  them  grow  very  wearisome  with 
the  monotonous  details  of  their  sporting  exploits,  for 
after  all  one  shot  at  a  wild  animal  is  very  like  another, 
and  the  details  only  appeal  to  specialists.  I  cannot, 
however,  go  quite  to  the  opposite  extreme  and  say 
nothing  at  all  upon  the  one  subject,  which  is  perhaps 
the  most  conspicuous  in  the  land  of  lions.  To  do  any 
serious  shooting  between  Zaila  and  Addis  Ababa,  you 
must  go  two  or  three  days'  march  off  the  road,  and 
this  I  could  not  do,  for  killing  animals  means  also 
the  killing  of  a  great  deal  of  precious  time.  Still,  for  a 
young  man  who  is  anxious  to  perfect  himself  in  shoot- 
ing and  is  not  hurried  for  a  month  or  two  more  or  less, 
I  can  conceive  no  country  more  appropriate. 

Even  on  the  beaten  track  I  was  much  impressed  by 
the  fearlessness  of  nearly  all  the  animals  I  saw.  This 
is  so  in  spite  of  the  numbers  of  sportsmen,  who  are 

always  taking  out  their  guns  there.  How  much  easier, 

140 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


therefore,  must  it  be  a  few  marches  to  the  right  or  to 
the  left,  where  the  beasts  have  had  very  little  oppor- 
tunity of  making  themselves  acquainted  with  firearms. 
The  first  time  I  tried  to  stalk  a  herd  of  antelope  I 
gave  myself  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  trouble,  dis- 
sembling behind  bushes  and  studying  the  wind  and 
reserving  my  fire  lest  the  first  shot  should  irretrievably 
disperse  my  quarry.  I  found,  however,  that  directly 
they  became  aware  of  my  presence  they  usually 
turned  round  to  look  at  me  and  would  remain  while 
eight  or  ten  shots  whizzed  about  their  ears,  not  always 
bolting  even  when  one  of  their  number  had  been  laid 
low.  Nor  did  they  ever  retire  very  far.  They  would 
disappear  over  the  ridge  of  a  hill  and  wait  within  rifle 
range  of  its  summit  for  me  to  try  my  luck  again.  The 
smaller  animals  would  be  more  fearless  still,  and  might 
often  have  been  knocked  down  with  a  stone  or  a  stick. 
As  I  sat  at  lunch  brilliant  little  birds  with  blue  and 
orange  plumage  would  hop  about  and  pick  up  crumbs 
until  a  quaint  bird  ^  with  black  and  white  stripes  and  a 
long  yellow  bill  made  a  rush  in  among  them  and 
dispersed  them.  There  were  also  numbers  of  pretty 
little  grey  and  white  squirrels,  with  long,  bushy  tails  ; 
they  would  run  to  pick  up  a  bit  of  bread  when  I  threw^ 
it  and  sit  up  a  few  yards  away  from  me  nibbling  it  in 
both  hands.  Their  tails  are  much  esteemed  by  the 
Abyssinians,  who  believe  that  they  render  them 
invisible  in  battle. 

One  day  I  thought  of  shooting  a  jackal,  which  was 
hovering  about  near  my  camp,  for  I  had  heard  that 
'  Called  godonroto  by  the  Somalis. 


142 


ABVSSIXIA 


the  skill  of  a  Somali  jackal  is  worth  having.  I  took 
up  my  gun  and  strolled  out  to  get  an  easy  shot.  My 
servants,  thinking  to  help  me,  whistled  to  it,  where- 
upon it  turned  round  and  looked  at  us  as  though  to 
see  what  we  wanted.  Then  I  put  away  my  gun,  for 
I  had  not  the  heart  to  shoot.  It  would  have  been 
like  killing  a  house -doo-.  In  the  same  way  I  never 
had  any  desire  to  kill  the  hyenas,  which  constantly 
prowl  about  the  camp.  Most  people  are  rather  proud 
of  shooting  them,  but  I  cannot  conceive  how  they  can 
consider  it  sportsmanlike  to  do  so. 

Xor  could  I  kill  gazelles,  having  once  kept  a  tame 
one  in  a  London  flat  and  come  to  look  upon  the  whole 
tribe  as  members  of  my  family.  Indeed  I  felt  almost 
a  murderer  when  I  had  slain  a  small  antelope,  whose 
big  eyes  reminded  me  reproachfully  of  my  pet. 
Still  less  could  1  have  killed  a  dio-dicr,  which  is  a 
tiny  gazelle,  scarcely  bigger  than  a  hare.  I  should 
very  much  have  liked  to  carry  off  a  live  one,  but  I 
understand  that  they  never  survive  in  captivity.  I 
am  told  that  they  always  go  about  in  pairs,  and  that 
if  the  male  or  female  is  killed  the  relict  never  survives 
it  long,  but  wanders  about  near  the  scene  of  the 
tragedy,  to  die  presently  of  a  broken  heart. 

This  tenderness  does  not  apply  to  the  oryx, 
koodoo,  and  other  antelopes,  which  are  nearly  if  not 
quite  as  large  as  a  mule.  The\"  possess  magnificent 
horns,  some  of  which  I  have  been  fortunate  enough 
to  brino-  back  with  me,  and  I  understand  that  when 
wounded  they  are  often  quite  dangerous  to  their 
aggressors. 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


143 


The  Abyssiniaiis  cherish  a  vast  respect  for  any  one 
who  has  killed  an  elephant  or  a  lion.  Indeed  the 
exploit  is  almost  like  a  patent  of  nobility.  You  are 
entitled  thereby  to  wear  a  turquoise  in  your  left  ear, 
and  to  hang  elephants'  tails  over  your  doorway.  To 
have  the  right  to  wear  an  ivory  bracelet,  you  must, 
however,  have  killed  ten  men  as  well  as  several 
elephants.     Elephants  are  so  clever  that  they  very 


SKINS  AND  HORNS  PACKED  UP  AT  TADECHAMALKA. 
(Photograpli  by  Captain  Powell-Cottox.) 

soon  come  to  understand  firearms,  and  immediately 
attack  any  one  they  see  going  about  with  a  gun  in  his 
hand.  I  heard  a  story  of  a  Yankee  who  went  out  to 
shoot  elephants  in  xAbyssinia.  One  day  an  elephant 
caucrht  sieht  of  him  and  started  to  chase  him  and  his 
Somali  gun-bearer.  "  Did  the  elephant  catch  you?" 
some  one  asked  when  he  was  telling  the  story.  "No, 
he  didn't,  but  he  caught  my  bearer,  for  I  tripped  him 


144 


ABYSSINIA 


up."  This  struck  me  as  a  delightful  version  of  the 
old  fable  of  the  cat  s-paw,  and  if  I  were  going  to 
make  a  speech  to-morrow  about  the  war  I  should 
utilise  it  as  illustrating  the  treatment  of  the  late  Free 
State  by  the  Boers. 

Monkeys  are  also  interesting  to  observe  in  the  wild 
state,  and  I  understand  that  many  people  take  pleasure 
in  shooting  them,  particularly  the  Gereeza  variety, 


LESSER  KOODOO. 
(Photograph  by  Captain  Powell-Cotton.) 


which  has  a  very  fine  coat.  I  generally  saw  monkeys 
in  bands  of  ten  or  twelve  in  a  forest  or  near  a  bio- 

o 

river,  scuttling  across  the  road  on  all  fours  and  dart- 
ing away  among  the  trees,  and  I  was  amused  to  notice 
that  a  mother  generally  carries  her  young  on  her  back 
exactly  as  a  Somali  woman  does.  The  monkeys  of 
Abyssinia  are  said  to  be  very  intelligent.  They  have 
regular  sentinels,  who  warn   them  of  the  approach 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


145 


of  an  enemy.  In  the  case  of  imminent  danger, 
they  place  their  women  and  children  in  the  centre 
of  a  military  square  ;  they  carry  off  their  wounded 
from  a  batdefield,  and  seem  only  to  need  the  red 
cross  and  the  white  flag  in  order  to  lay  claim  to 
civilisation.  They  understand  a  great  deal  about  guns, 
and  have  been  known,  when  one  of  their  leaders  has 


LESSER  KOODOO. 
{Photograph  by  Captaix  Powell-Cottox.) 


been  wounded,  to  attack  a  party  of  sportsmen  in 
innumerable  hordes  and  tear  them  to  pieces. 

The  other  chief  animals  to  be  met  with  within 
easy  reach  of  the  caravan  route  are  hartebeestes,  the 
Semmering  gazelle  (known  to  the  Somalis  as  aoul,  or 
owl),  zebras,  leopards,  and  lions.  Zebras  are  exceed- 
ingly valuable  to  capture,  and  Captain  Harrington 
told  me  that  the  pair  which  he  brought  home 
for  Queen  Victoria  at  a  cost  of  ^60,  would  have 

L 


146 


ABYSSINIA 


fetched  a  thousand  pounds  if  sold  in  the  open 
market. 

Lions  are  now  very  rare  except  at  a  great  distance 
from  the  road.  I  had,  however,  the  good  fortune  to 
encounter  one  at  Bia  Kaboba  only  a  few  days  after  I 
had  set  out  from  the  coast.  I  was  riding  into  the 
nullah  at  about  8.30  in  the  morning  when  the  Pilgrim 
pointed  to  an  enormous  ant-hill  and  said  there  was  an 


LESSER  KOODOO. 

{Photograph  by  Captain  Po\vell-Cotto\.) 


animal  behind  it ;  he  did  not  know  what  it  was  but  it 
was  certainly  not  a  gazelle.  Was  it  an  oryx  ?  No,  it 
was  smaller.  I  did  not  feel  much  interested,  having 
frequently  had  my  hopes  raised  to  no  purpose,  but 
I  told  him  to  get  out  my  rifle  and  load  it.  While 
this  was  being  done,  suddenly  a  sandy-coloured  beast 
crept  round  the  ant-hill,  which  was  certainly  not  a 
hundred  yards  away,  looked  at  us  and  began  to  slink 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


H7 


off  into  the  jungle.  Then  all  my  men  gave  a  wild 
shout  of  excitement  :  "A  lion  !  a  lion  !  "  As  a  matter 
of  fact  it  was  a  lioness.  I  snatched  my  rifle  and  tried 
to  get  a  shot,  for  it  would  have  been  a  fine  feather  in 
my  cap  to  begin  my  career  as  a  hunter  by  bringing 
down  the  queen  of  beasts.  However,  she  was  too 
many  for  me,  and  was  out  of  reach  before  I  could  take 
aim.    Perhaps  this  was  just  as  well,  for  I  have  since 


ANT-HILL  IN  THE  JUNGLE. 

(Photograph  by  Captain  Powell- Cotton-.) 


been  told  that  I  could  not  possibly  have  brought  her 
down  with  my  '303  unless  I  chanced  to  hit  her  in  one 
of  a  very  few  vital  spots,  whereas  if  I  had  wounded 
her,  or  even  if  she  had  been  annoyed  by  the  sound  of 
a  rifle,  she  would  probably  have  charged  us  at  once. 

One  day  I  came  into  the  billiard-room  of  the  Motel 
du  Lion  at  Harrar  and  found  a  French  Count  busy 
manufacturing    some    enormous    wild-beast  traps. 


148 


ABYSSINIA 


"  Hallo,"  said  he,  ''come  and  look  here.  I  am  eoincf 
to  try  to  bag  a  lion  one  of  these  days.  A  litde  while 
ago  when  I  was  at  Burka  I  woke  up  in  the  night  and 
found  one  sniffing  at  my  tent  six  inches  away  from  my 
nose.  I  saw  his  eyes  glistening  through  the  aperture. 
I  had  a  shot  at  him  in  the  dark,  but  he  made  off  Now 
I  am  going  to  set  traps,  but  I  must  take  care  that  they 
are  sufficiently  strong,  for  if  a  lion  can  break  away 
wounded,  even  with  the  loss  of  a  leg,  or  if  he  can  pull 
up  the  trap  and  carry  it  off,  he  may  become  very 
dangerous  before  you  have  time  to  look  to  your 
weapons." 

There  were  some  curious  little  sand-coloured  birds 
with  imperceptible  legs,  which  hopped  about  the 
desert  and  proved  very  good  eating.  There  were 
brilliant  metallic  blue  starlings,  called  fihucr  by  the 
Somalis.  I  shot  a  number  of  them,  thinking  they 
would  make  my  wife  some  very  fine  hats,  but  they  lost 
all  their  brilliancy  after  they  had  been  dead  a  day  or 
two.  I1ie  most  beautiful  birds  of  all  were  about  the 
size  of  locusts,  but  I  had  no  shot  small  enough  for 
them.  There  were  carrion  crows  so  impertinent  that 
they  often  pecked  at  the  tassels  of  my  servants'  fezzes. 
Indeed,  once  Abdi  had  his  fez  lifted  riorht  off  his  head 
and  thrown  down  a  few  yards  away.  Xor  must  I 
forget  the  guinea-fowl,  which  used  to  run  about  the 
nullahs  in  large  flocks.  One  very  hot  day  I  shot  two 
particularly  plump  ones,  and  my  mouth  watered  at  the 
prospect  of  an  excellent  supper.  But  by  the  evening 
they  were  so  high  that  they  had  to  be  thrown  away 
very  far    from  the  camp.     I   was  particularly  dis- 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE  149 


appointed  not  to  kill  a  marabout,  also  known  as  a 
corpse-reviver.  This  horrible  bird  hovers  about 
wherever  there  is  a  dead  mule  and  feeds  on  the 
carrion,  but  he  possesses  the  most  beautiful  tail- 
feathers  imaginable.  Alas  !  I  was  never  fortunate 
enough  to  get  a  shot  at  one. 

To  succeed  as  a  sportsman  in  these  regions,  you 
should  bring  out  sporting  dogs,  and,  above  all,  a  good 
shikari. 

There  were  irritating  flies  in  Somaliland,  but  they 
were  kind  friends  compared  with  their  brothers  of 
Abyssinia.  If  flies  are  evidence  of  dirt,  the  Abys- 
sinians  must  certainly  be  the  filthiest  people  on  earth. 
Whenever  I  passed  a  party  of  natives  on  the  road  I 
would  suddenly  find  myself  assailed  by  a  small  swarm. 
I  could  not  understand  this  at  first,  but  presently  I 
observed  that  every  Abyssinian  habitually  went  about 
with  large  black  clusters  on  his  back  and  clothes. 
Unfortunately  the  wretches  seemed  to  welcome  a 
change  from  the  Ethiopian's  skin  and  invariably  pro- 
ceeded to  come  and  worry  me.  Never  was  there  such 
persistency,  not  even  in  a  Boer.  Nothing  short  of 
killing  them  could  persuade  them  to  desist.  I  had  to 
ride  with  a  knotted  handkerchief  in  my  right  hand  and 
keep  beating  the  air  like  a  flail.  But  I  might  drive 
away  my  foes  a  hundred  times  :  they  would  merely 
wait  until  the  blow  had  expended  its  force  and  then 
settle  down  again  quietly  just  where  they  were  before. 
When  I  entered  a  village  the  plague  was  many  times 
w^orse.  I  came  to  believe  that  all  the  inhabitants 
habitually  kept  large  colonies  of  flies  on  their  backs, 


150 


ABYSSINIA 


and  that  these  were  ever  on  the  alert  for  a  stranger. 
To  outward  appearance  they  were  merely  the  ordinary 
repulsive  house-fly,  but  they  possessed  a  pertinacity 
and  effrontery  which  house-flies  never  reach  amongst 
us.  Their  delight  was  to  settle  in  my  hair  and  start 
wild  hornpipes,  or  still  better,  to  invade  my  ears  and 
seek  to  play  on  their  drums.  An  even  more  favourite 
diversion  was  to  prevent  my  drinking.  I  would  pour 
out  a  cup  of  tea  and  congratulate  myself  upon  com- 
parative immunity.  But  the  enemy  were  only  waiting 
behind  a  kopje.  Suddenly  three  or  four  skirmishers 
would  make  a  rush  for  my  mouth  while  six  others 
would  storm  the  inside  of  my  cup  and  start  a  mad 
waltz,  and  a  rear-guard  would  open  order  upon  my 
hands,  eyes,  nose,  and  neck.  I  believe  even  S. 
Francis  would  have  cursed  such  aggravating  "  little 
sisters."  Down  would  go  my  cup  with  a  crash,  spilling 
most  of  the  precious  liquid,  and  the  engagement  would 
become  general.  But  it  was  no  use  beating  the  air  : 
the  enemy  were  far  too  wily  for  such  tactics  to  avail. 
After  weeks  of  campaigning  I  discovered  that  the  only 
plan  was  to  fight  them  with  their  own  crafty  strategy. 
I  would  lean  back  in  my  chair  and  pretend  not  to 
mind  ;  on  the  camp  table  in  front  of  me  I  would  pour 
out  libations  of  tea,  sugar,  jam,  or  anything  else  that 
is  pleasant  to  flies  ;  then  at  the  psychological  moment, 
crash  would  come  a  sledge-hammer  whack  with  a 
knotted  towel,  and  when  once  I  got  my  eye  in  I 
thought  nothing  of  the  historical  "seven  at  one  blow." 
I  shall  never  forget  Abdi's  amazement  and  amusement 
when  he  found  me  engaged  in  this  grim  sport,  for 


PLEASURES  OE  PILGRIAIAGE  151 

to  a  Somali  it  is  incredible  that  any  one  should  object 
to  the  society  of  flies.  He  proposed  that  one  of  my 
servants  should  be  stationed  behind  me  with  a  whisk 
to  keep  them  off,  but  I  reflected  that  this  might  only 
increase  the  plague. 

Another  plague  which  I  encountered  was  less 
irritating  and  far  more  interesting.  When  I  reached 
my  camp  at  Challenko  I  noticed  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  big  white  birds,  clustered  over  the  greater 
part  of  the  valley,  lying  in  wait  against  the  rocks  in 
immense  armies,  scudding  across  the  sky  from  time 
to  time  in  regiments.  No  one  could  tell  me  why  they 
were  there,  thou2:h  all  ao-reed  that  thev  had  never 
observed  more  than  two  or  three  too-ether  hitherto. 

o 

During  lunch  I  remarked  a  few  locusts  hovering  about 
the  top  of  the  long  grass.  They  resembled  huge 
grasshoppers  with  thick,  greasy  bodies  some  two  inches 
long  and  bright  wings  of  variegated  gauze.  Presently 
I  heard  a  loud  fluttering  sound  like  that  of  some 
supernatural  machinery.  I  looked  up  and  beheld  a 
driving  rain  of  locusts  whirling  at  a  terrific  rate  high 
in  air  against  a  background  of  fleecy  white  cloud.  It 
was  unlike  any  other  sight  I  ever  saw.  The  only 
way  I  can  convey  the  impression  is  by  comparing 
it  to  a  storm  of  fallino-  leaves,  which  it  resembled  in 
colour  and  method  of  whirling — autumn  leaves  with 
which  a  small  hurricane  was  sporting.  In  about  ten 
minutes  the  marvel  entirely  passed  away. 

Presently  another  army  rushed  past  in  much  the 
same  way,  but  afforded  a  different  effect  against  a 
background  of  trees.     Not  long  after  this  had  passed 


152 


ABYSSINIA 


away  I  heard  a  loud  hum,  Hke  that  of  a  forest  of 
telegraph  poles.  This  gradually  translated  itself 
into  the  distinct  flapping  of  myriads  of  wings,  and  I 
found  myself  in  the  very  midst  of  a  dense  cloud  of 
locusts.  The  main  body  advanced  straight  forward 
at  a  great  pace,  while  smaller  groups,  presumably 
officers,  whirled  about  as  though  to  whip  up  the  others 
and  give  orders.  Great  skill  was  certainly  displayed 
in  avoiding  contact  with  trees,  tents,  men,  and  other 
obstacles,  and  though  I  could  scarcely  see  a  yard  in 
front  of  my  nose  for  many  minutes  I  was  never  even 
touched  by  the  tip  of  a  wing.  When  the  last  flight 
had  passed  away,  I  observed  that  a  considerable 
number  had  settled  on  the  oround  and  were  crawlinor 
about  in  search  of  food.  I  asked  Abdi  whether  people 
ate  those  creatures,  and  he  replied  with  some  con- 
tempt that  he  believed  the  Abyssinians  did  so.  The 
white  birds  at  least  had  no  scruples  on  this  score,  and 
I  now  realised  why  they  had  entrenched  themselves  in 
this  strange  valley.  No  sooner  had  a  cloud  of  locusts 
passed  by  than  a  detachment  of  birds  swooped  down 
upon  the  ground  to  pick  up  the  stragglers,  while  other 
flying  squadrons  of  birds  started  off  in  pursuit  of  the 
retreatinor  armies  of  locusts. 

o 

I  have  always  hated  insects,  but  there  seemed  to  be 
no  escape  from  them  in  the  highlands  of  Abyssinia. 
They  would  crawl  about  inside  my  tent  at  all  hours  of 
the  night  and  morning;  great  fat  caterpillars  which  it 
was  very  unpleasant  to  squash  against  the  canvas,  lice 
with  a  particularly  putrid  odour,  and  strange  beetles, 
which  might  or  might  not  prove  poisonous.    All  this 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


153 


induced  an  irritating  jumpiness.  If  I  felt  anything 
tickling  me  in  my  hair  or  under  my  collar,  I  was 
almost  ready  to  leap  into  the  air.  Indeed  I  have 
never  quite  got  over  it,  and  to  this  day  I  feel  ready 
to  tear  off  my  coat  or  plunge  my  head  into  a  basin  of 
water  when  the  fancy  seizes  me  that  I  am  still  under- 
going the  persecution  of  Abyssinian  insects.  It  is 
still  difficult  for  me  to  go  to  bed  or  put  on  my  boots 
without  first  institutinof  a  reo^ular  search  to  see  whether 
some  reptile  may  not  be  concealed.  This  annoyance 
I  owe  almost  entirely  to  an  Englishman  I  met  with  his 
caravan  at  Tadechamalka.  He  told  me  how  one 
evening  when  retiring  to  rest  he  had  happened  by 
the  merest  accident  to  pull  open  his  sheets  and  dis- 
cover a  particularly  venomous  snake  coiled  up  between 
them.  I  would  much  rather  not  have  known  this,  for 
it  compelled  me  to  worry  myself  with  a  search  every 
night,  and  as  I  never  found  anything  I  might  just 
as  well  have  been  left  in  blissful  ignorance  of  the 
possibility. 

I  was  also  tormented  a  great  deal  by  moths.  Living 
in  the  open  air  is  all  very  weir  and  does  you  a  great 
deal  of  good,  but  the  enjoyment  of  your  dinner  is 
considerably  marred  by  the  invasion  of  nasty  creatures 
attracted  by  your  lamp.  I  could  rarely  eat  a  plate  of 
soup  without  having  to  bale  out  several  spoonfuls  of 
uninvited  guests,  who  seasoned  my  meal  with  their 
down.  And  they  would  dart  at  me  with  such  vehe- 
mence, banging  against  the  lamp  like  bullets  and 
ricocheting  furiously  into  my  face.  Before  the  meal 
was   over,  my  table,   chair,   food,   clothes,  and  the 


154 


ABYSSIXIA 


ground  for  many  yards  around  would  be  strewn  with 
loathsome  wrio-o-Hncr  bodies. 

I  used  to  say  to  myself  sometimes  that  dining  would 
be  much  pleasanter  by  starlight,  but  when  the  rain 
drenched  all  my  matches  I  soon  came  to  a  different 
opinion.  The  cook  said  he  could  remedy  the  disaster 
at  once,  and  proceeded  to  spread  them  all  out  in  front 
of  a  hre  to  dry.  but  he  put  them  too  near  and  presently 
they  all  went  off  with  a  hzz.  An  official  at  a  telephone 
station  offered  me  two  matches  for  a  dollar,  but  my 
cook,  who  was  of  a  fruQ^al  mind,  would  not  allow 
me  to  run  to  such  an  extravaeance  ;  so  we  came 
very  near  finding  ourselves  where  ]\Ioses  was  on  a 
certain  celebrated  occasion,  until  happily  I  met  a  Greek 
who  exchanged  a  box  with  me  for  a  new  loaf,  which 
he  regarded  as  an  extraordinary  luxury  in  the  wilds. 
]\Iatches  are  not.  howe\'er.  really  so  indispensable  as 
people  imagine.  Indeed  the  Abyssinians  have  only 
known  them  for  a  very  few  years,  and  that  merely 
on  the  beaten  track.  Their  method  was  and  is  to 
rub  two  pieces  of  wood  together,  like  the  savages 
of  tradition,  until  they  get  some  sparks  with  which  to 
kindle  a  bundle  of  hav  or  straw.  This  havinof  been 
done  once,  the  fire  is  rarely  allowed  to  go  completely 
out  from  year's  end  to  year's  end,  and  I  found  that 
wherever  I  went,  there  was  always  sure  to  be  some 
nati\'e  encampment  \\  hich  would  provide  me  with  the 
necessarv  lioht. 

The  day  after  I  left  Harrar  I  could  scarcely  believe 
my  eyes  when  I  was  overtaken  by  a  shower  of  rain. 
I  had  lately  come  through  a  barren  and  thirsty  land, 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE  155 


where  next  to  no  water  was,  and  I  was  entering 
Abyssinia  in  what  is  known  as  the  dry  season.  In 
the  summer,  I  understood,  there  would  be  rain  all  day 
and  every  day,  but  now  it  was  unheard  of.  As  to 
that  I  was  soon  to  be  undeceived.  At  Challenko  I 
was  caught  in  a  tropical  downpour  while  stalking 
some  of  the  bio^  white  birds  who  were  stalking-  the 
locusts.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  wade  back  to  my 
camp  through  sloughs  which  had  suddenly  come  into 
existence. 

On  January  7th  I  wrote  from  the  forest  of  Kunni : 
Yesterday  was  physically  the  most  unpleasant  I  can 
remember.  For  nearly  seven  hours  I  was  staggering 
through  ankle-deep  slush  uphill.  Take  some  eighteen 
miles  of  ploughed  field  on  the  side  of  a  steep  moun- 
tain, sprinkle  copiously  with  big,  jagged  stones,  rain 
upon  them  vehemently  for  ten  days,  season  with  fog 
and  clouds  :  then  you  have  yesterday's  road." 

''January  8th. — Never  have  I  known  such  hard 
going.  Walking  and  riding  were  alike  pain  and 
grief.  For  a  time  we  would  generally  find  a 
certain  relic  of  a  path  on  one  side  of  the  regular, 
caravan  track.  Then  it  would  end  abruptly  ;  we 
would  find  we  were  knee-deep,  and  a  long, 
struggling  splash  would  take  us  through  the  slough 
of  despond  to  a  feeble  vestige  of  a  path  on  the 
other  side.  This  would  soon  be  exhausted  in  the 
same  way,  and  each  time  we  struggled  over  the 
slough,  we  found  the  path  of  salvation  shorter  and 
sloppier,  until  at  last  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
wade  or  slide  through  the  mud  in  the  middle,  bumping 


ABYSSINIA 


into  hidden  boulders  at  every  step,  getting  splashed 
up  to  the  eyes  in  foetid,  stinking  black  muck.^  Faugh!" 

Happy,  light-hearted  Somalis — how  many  short- 
comings one  had  to  condone  in  them  when  they  found 
fun  in  such  miseries,  amid  clouds  so  dense  that 
you  scarcely  saw  a  yard  ahead,  and  a  drizzling  Scots 
mist,  which  soaked  into  your  very  vitals.  It  is  diffi- 
cult for  people  w^ho  live  in  houses  to  realise  the  extent 
of  such  a  drenching.  \Mien  I  opened  my  trunks  in 
the  security  of  a  tent,  I  found  everything,  right  into 
their  very  centre,  was  dripping.  A  Gladstone  bag 
was  reduced  to  pulp  and  now  presents  the  appearance 
of  a  wizened  caricature.  It  was  hopeless  to  attempt 
a  change  of  raiment,  for  the  clothes  I  had  packed  up 
were  nearly  as  badly  drenched  as  the  suit  I  wore. 
Sheets,  blankets,  pillows,  rugs,  all  were  hopelessly 
sodden.  ]\Iy  keys  were  rusty,  my  matches  were 
reduced  to  a  paste.  For  six  days  and  six  nights  I 
lived  in  a  cloud,  reeking  with  wet  like  a  water-nymph. 
Yet  so  well  does  Nature  adapt  one  to  his  surround- 
ings that  I  never  had  a  twinge  of  rheumatism  nor 
even  the  menace  of  a  cold. 

At  last,  after  leaving  Kunni  telephone  station,  I 
beheld  a  gleam  of  sunshine,  which  seemed  like  a  long- 
forgotten  delight.  As  I  proceeded  through  the  woods 
and  down  the  hill,  the  sunshine  grew  more  and  more 
unmistakable.  W  hen  I  approached  the  valley  I 
looked  back  and  saw  a  beautiful  cloud  of  the  purest 

'  On  my  return  journey,  when  this  was  again  dry  land,  I  was  able 
to  cover  in  two  hours  and  thirty -five  minutes  what  had  taken  me 
seven  and  a  half  hours  on  the  way  up. 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


157 


white  hanging  over  the  summit  of  an  exquisite  dark- 
green  mountain.  My  admiration  was,  however, 
tempered  by  the  reflection  that  for  six  days  I  had 
lived  in  that  cloud.  It  was  like  a  fairy  tale  to  emerge 
from  it  and  bask  in  the  light  of  the  sun  once  more. 
Goodbye  to  rainland,  welcome  sunland  !  On  reaching 
camp  everything  we  possessed  was  dragged  out  and 
exposed  to  the  welcome  warmth. 

One  always  imagines  there  is  nothing  like  rain- 
water for  the  complexion,  and  I  expected  to  come  out 
of  cloudland  with  a  skin  like  that  of  a  new-born  baby. 
But  even  that  consolation  was  denied  me.  I  had 
been  saturated  with  water  all  this  time,  and  now  there 
seemed  no  greater  delight  than  to  let  the  pores  drink 
in  every  sunbeam.  This  was  all  very  agreeable  for 
the  moment  ;  but  presently  I  discovered  that  a  sort  of 
nettlerash  was  being  developed  all  over  my  hands. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  days  this  grew  into  great 
throbbing,  festering  blisters,  which  all  ran  into  one 
another,  and  caused  me  the  most  acute  pain  I  have 
ever  experienced.  It  lasted  for  weeks,  keeping  me 
awake  at  night,  and  making  it  impossible  for  me  to 
hold  my  reins,  except  with  great  thick  bandages,  like 
boxing-gloves.  Then  my  face  began  to  peel,  as 
from  the  effect  of  sun  upon  perpetual  snow,  and  I 
began  to  reflect  that  I  should  indeed  present  a  pretty 
sight  to  set  before  King  Menelik. 

There  are  certain  differences  between  travelling 
with  camels  and  travelling  with  mules,  which  are 
perhaps  worthy  of  mention.  It  often  amused  me 
to  sit  and  watch  the  mulemen  preparing  for  a  start  in 


158 


ABYSSINIA 


the  mornino-.  They  were  very  leisurely  over  it  always. 
First  a  number  of  pegs  were  hammered  into  the  ground. 
Then  two  little  ropes  with  loops,  like  baby  lassoes, 
were  attached  to  each  peg.  A  mule  was  led  up,  and 
hobbled  by  the  foreleg  with  them.  A  bundle  of 
sacking  was  placed  on  the  mule's  back,  and  over  this 
a  kind  of  saddle,  made  of  stuffed  skins  or  native 
garments.  I  discovered  in  process  of  time  that  the 
men  were  very  fond  of  conveying  a  good  deal  of  their 
own  baggage  or  merchandise  under  the  guise  of  this 
saddle,  but  it  was  no  use  protesting,  for  they  always 
had  some  very  good  reason  ready.  Over  the  saddle 
was  placed  a  piece  of  wood  shaped  like  a  V  upside 
down.  On  the  slopes  of  this  my  baggage  was  rested, 
while  long  leathern  straps  were  swung  round  and  round 
it  and  the  animal's  belly.  Before  tying  the  straps  the 
men  never  failed  to  put  up  their  feet  against  the 
mule's  flanks  on  either  side,  and  tug  and  tug  until  the 
strap  was  sufficiently  tight.  This  was  evidently  more 
or  less  of  an  art,  for  when  the  mules  were  loaded  by 
my  own  men  on  an  emergency,  or  by  an  inexperienced 
hand,  the  load  would  nearly  always  swing  round  and 
threaten  to  come  off  after  half  an  hour's  march.  The 
mules  had  no  bit  or  bridle,  but  only  a  collar  like  a 
very  rough  bow.  The  wpoden  part  of  this  was 
stuffed  into  the  animal's  mouth  while  he  was  beine 
loaded ;  on  making  a  start  it  was  taken  out  and 
allowed  to  slip  upon  his  neck,  where  it  was  useful  for 
securing  him  if  he  became  fractious  or  tried  to  run 
away.  And  the  mules  did  very  often  become 
fractious,  a  favourite   plan  with  them  being  to  lie 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


159 


down  directly  their  loads  had  been  put  on  and  refuse 
to  budge,  however  much  they  might  be  kicked  or 
beaten.  The  men  were  certainly  not  over  kind 
to  them.  They  welcomed  a  short  march,  but  that 
was  really  on  account  of  their  own  laziness,  and 
I  imagine  that  the  mules  had  very  little  to  eat  beyond 
what  they  contrived  to  pick  up  for  themselves.  Nor 
does  the  method  of  loading  seem  to  have  been  a  very 
satisfactory  one,  although  it  must  have  been  in  use 
during  many  generations.  A  mule  never  went  many 
days  without  developing  the  most  horrible  sores  from 
the  friction  of  the  load.  For  this  the  invariable  cure 
was  to  burn  the  wounds  with  red-hot  irons. 

Nearly  every  evening,  when  I  was  trying  to 
summon  up  an  appetite  for  dinner,  I  would  observe 
a  group  of  men  leading  off  an  unfortunate  mule  to 
their  camp-fire.  They  would  twist  ropes  round  his 
legs  and  then  give  them  a  sudden  jerk  to  trip  him  up. 
In  a  trice  he  would  be  sprawling  on  his  back  and  a 
couple  of  men  would  be  sitting  on  his  head,  as  though 
he  were  a  London  cab-horse.  Then  a  horrible  figure 
would  advance  from  the  fire,  holdina-  out  a  red-hot 
iron,  and  I  would  turn  away  my  head,  but  there  was 
no  mistaking  the  hissing  sound  when  it  came  into 
contact  with  the  poor  beast's  fiesh,  nor  the  loathsome 
smell  of  singeing  which  instantly  pervaded  the  whole 
camp.  I  am  told  that  when  horses  undergo  opera- 
tions they  sometimes  scream  aloud  with  pain,  but  I 
noticed  that  the  mules  never  uttered  a  sound.  They 
would  wriggle  and  WTithe  and  kick,  while  their  bodies 
were  being  burned,  but  directly  it  was  all  over  and 


i6o 


AHYSSINIA 


they  were  allowed  to  rise,  they  would  stroll  away 
and  begin  to  nibble  grass  quite  unconcernedly,  as 
though  nothing  had  happened.  Next  day  the  wounds 
would  appear  to  be  more  or  less  healed,  but  the  cure 
was  by  no  means  a  permanent  one,  for  the  packs  soon 
rubbed  away  the  skin  again,  and  the  operation  had  to 
be  repeated.  I  have  discussed  this,  subject  with 
various  people  in  Abyssinia,  but  I  could  obtain  no 
certain  information  as  to  the  success  of  the  cure. 
Some  said  that  it  was  merely  a  very  barbarous 
method  of  patching  up  a  sore  ;  others  insisted  that 
it  did  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  hurt  very  little. 

My  troubles  with  my  mulemen  will  best  be  illustrated 
by  a  few  quotations  from  my  letters  and  diaries. 

Giirsa,  Sunday  night,  December  31,  1899. — The 
first  day  from  Harrar  I  marched  three  hours.  To- 
day (the  second)  two  hours  and  thirty-five  minutes. 
Directly  I  have  received  my  mail,  1  shall  insist  on 
faster  progress. 

Garsa,  Monday,  January  i,  1900. — A  row  with  the 
mulemen  this  morning.  They  ol)jected  to  my  making 
two  marches  a  day.  No  other  gentleman  had  ever 
done  as  I  did.  Unless  I  gave  way  they  would  pay 
me  back  my  money  and  I  might  find  other  mules, 
hoity-toity  !  I  pointed  out  that  I  had  paid  for  extra 
mules  in  order  to  be  able  to  travel  quickly  and  com- 
fortably ;  that  the  more  trouble  they  gave  me,  the 
less  backshish  they  would  get  in  the  end;  and,  finally, 
that  I  held  them  to  their  bargain. 

Kolubie,  January  2nd. — More  rows  with  the  mule- 
men yesterday.     At  nightfall  I  came  to  a  hollow  in 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRBIAGE 


i6i 


the  hills,  and  found  that  the  second  detachment  of  the 
caravan  had  unloaded  the  mules  and  sent  them  off  to 
grass,  thoug-h  the  others  had  gone  on  ahead. 

Audi  :     They  say  they  won't  go  on." 

I  :     Tell  them  they  must." 

Abdi  :  "  They  tvont,  sir." 

I  :  "  W^hich  of  them  refuses  ?  " 

Abdi  :  "  That  one." 

I  go  and  shout  at  the  culprit,  and  prod  his  bare 
skin  very  hard  with  my  stick.  He  makes  a  show  of 
resistance,  but  at  last  consents  to  help  Abdi,  who  has 
ofone  to  drive  in  the  mules  meanwhile.  Then  the 
mules  are  loaded  and  we  march  on  again. 

Row  continued  on  reaching  camp.  I  seated  myself 
in  my  deck-chair,  as  though  on  a  throne,  and  said  to 
my  servants,  "  Fetch  hither  the  Xagadi  Ras"  (merchant 
prince,  or  chief  muleman).  This  personage  went  on 
fumbling  sulkily  with  a  mule,  so  I  told  my  men  to 
drag  and  push  him.  He  began  by  taking  a  very 
high  tone  :  he  was  a  merchant,  not  a  servant,  and  so 
forth.  I  took  a  hio-her  tone  still,  talked  of  usino- 
force,  would  have  him  punished  at  Addis  Ababa,  &c. 
Then  he  became  shifty,  promised  to  do  all  I  bade 
him,  but  presently  refused  to  allow  my  barrels  to  be 
filled  with  water  on  the  morrow.  He  had  advised  my 
takinof  a  mule  to  carrv  barrels  where  water  was  scarce, 
but  now  declared  the  mule  could  only  carry  them 
empty,  which  I  pointed  out  would  not  be  very 
useful. 

Challenko,  January  3rd. — A  crisis  with  the  mule- 
men.    I  found  they  had  entrenched  themselves  here 

M 


l62 


ABYSSINIA 


in  the  morning-  after  three  hours'  march,  and  decHned 
to  proceed.  I  sent  word  that  we  must  start  again 
directly  after  luncheon,  but  no  notice  was  taken.  In 
process  of  time  their  leader  came  out  from  his  camp 
at  the  other  end  of  the  valley.  I  asked  how  soon 
he  would  be  ready  to  start.  He  replied  quite  coolly, 
"  To-morrow."  I  argued  and  railed,  but  to  no  purpose. 
He  took  refuge  in  yarns  about  one  mule  having 
broken  its  back  and  the  others  being  tired  or  sore. 
After  exhausting  diplomacy,  I  had  him  driven  off 
with  sticks,  and  I  tried  to  bribe  one  of  his  subordi- 
nates to  let  me  have  six  mules  with  which  to  push 
on  fast,  taking  only  the  essentials.  He  was  willing, 
but  afraid  of  his  superiors,  and  I  have  small  hopes 
of  a  deal. 

Late  last  night  the  "Prince"  sent  word  that  he 
would  not  start  at  all  to-day.  This  morning  early, 
before  I  was  up,  two  of  my  men  went  down  to 
remonstrate,  and  he  said  he  would  start.  But  a  few 
minutes  after  their  return  a  man  came  up  to  say 
that,  after  all.  there  would  be  no  start.  I  realised 
that  the  moment  had  come  for  viororous  action. 

So  after  breakfast  I  went  down  with  all  my  men, 
two  carrvino-  oruns  over  their  shoulders  and  Abdi 
nursing  a  loaded  Mauser  pistol  ostentatiously.  The 
Prince  came  out  of  his  tent  looking  very  sulky,  and 
all  his  men  gathered  round  him  for  a  palaver.  I  said, 
"  I  have  come  to  insist  upon  it  that  you  shall  either 
start  at  once  or  give  me  six  mules  with  which  to  push 
on  fast  to  Addis  Ababa." 

He  smiled  an  oily  smile,  wrung  his  hands  depre- 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE  163 


catingly  and  answered,  "  Esshi  !  Esshi !  (Certainly)  I 
will  go  at  once.  Go  you  back  to  your  camp  and 
prepare  your  chattels,  and  I  will  make  ready  here 
meanwhile." 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  you  have  told  me  so  many  lies  that 
I  will  not  budoe  until  I  see  the  loadino-  beo-un." 

This  disconcerted  him  a  good  deal,  for  he  evidently 
meant  to  get  me  away  and  then  change  his  mind 
again,  so  he  wandered  off  into  complaints  about  my 
insulting  him,  striking  his  men,  &c.,  while  he  was 
only  too  anxious  to  meet  my  wishes.  At  length  I 
saw  men  sent  off,  a  file  of  mules  being  driven  into 
camp,  and  tents  being  pulled  down,  so  I  departed. 
First,  however,  I  asked  how  many  more  days  remained 
before  Addis  Ababa. 

He  replied  coolly,  "Twenty-two." 

"But,"  I  said,  "you  agreed  to  get  there  in  twenty 
days  from  Harrar." 

"  No,  sir,"  he  replied.  "  You  offered  us  ex-tra  pay 
if  we  could  get  there  in  less  than  twenty  days.  We 
knew  that  was  impossible,  but  we  said  '  Esshi  !  '  in 
order  to  please  you." 

This  is  rather  nice  and  naif. 

"  Well,  how  far  will  you  go  to-day.^  " 

"To  Shola." 

"  How  far  is  that?  " 

"  Very  far.    Too  far.    At  least  five  hours." 
"  Humph  !  " 

Derru,  January  4th. — The  caravan  started  at  10.50, 
I  at  eleven  this  mornino-.  After  one  hour's  ride,  I  found 
that  the  "  Prince  "  had  encamped  at  Shola  and  that 


164 


ABYSSINIA 


the  second  detachment  was  just  turning  off  the  road 
to  join  him.  I  leaped  off  my  beast,  rushed  down  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  durra-stubble  and  headed  them. 
I  was  just  in  the  nick  of  time.  Abdi  shouted,  the 
Pilgrim  waved  a  gun,  all  my  men  were  hugely  excited. 
I  began  to  belabour  the  baggage  mules  with  my 
sword-stick.  Slowly,  surely  we  drove  them  all  up 
into  the  road  again,  and  they  began  winding  round 
the  hill  like  a  long  snake.  I  sent  the  Pilgrim  to  the 
head  of  the  column  and  posted  my  other  men  at 
intervals  with  orders  to  prevent  all  attempts  at  camp- 
ing. I  myself  brought  up  the  rear,  and  felt  like  a 
cattle-lifter  driving  his  bootv  before  him.  The  second 
headman  of  the  nagadis  (Merchant  Prince  II.) 
accosted  me  with  a  cock-and-bull  story  about  there 
beinof  no  w'ater  ahead.  I  said  I  didn't  care.  He 
said  he  would  consent  to  00  a  little  wav  further  on 
to  please  me.  I  said  I  was  going  on  to  Derru.  He 
laughed  derisively  at  the  very  idea,  and  his  men 
joined  in  a  chorus  of  derision.  "Ha!  ha!  ha!  To 
Derru  !    That's  very  good  !    Ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  " 

I  said  nothing,  but  plodded  on  very  slowly  at  the 
rear  of  the  long  column.  I  was  as  alert  as  a  lynx, 
and  only  allowed  myself  five  minutes  for  a  biscuit 
and  a  drop  of  whiskey  under  a  bush  in  the  rain. 
After  three  and  a  half  hours  of  this.  Merchant  Prince 
II.  came  up  and  implored  me  most  humbly  to  stop. 
He  said  one  of  his  horses  and  two  of  his  mules  had 
broken  down ;  all  would  die  if  we  went  on  any 
further. 

"Is  this  Derru  ?  " 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE 


165 


"Yes." 

"Very  well,  we  will  camp  here  as  I  arranged." 

He  threw  up  his  cap  and  invoked  the  blessings  of 
Heaven  on  my  head  in  an  outburst  of  fervent  gratitude. 
When  we  camped  I  found  that  I  had  raided  twenty- 
six  mules,  three  horses,  and  one  donkey,  not  to 
mention  a  variety  of  merchandise  which  does  not 
belong  to  me. 

That  evening  a  group  of  peasants  was  jogging 
along  a  path  near  the  camp  with  expressions  of  the 
utmost  content,  for  each  carried  a  bundle  of  durra 
stalks,  and  he  looked  forward  to  a  nice  comfortable 
chew  after  his  day's  work.  My  Abyssinian  servant 
suddenly  rushed  out  towards  them  and  took  toll — one 
stick  from  each.  They  looked  surprised,  but  shrugged 
their  shoulders  and  did  not  seem  to  mind.  Then, 
amid  roars  of  laughter  in  camp,  my  servants  and  most 
of  the  mulemen  rushed  forward  one  at  a  time  and 
each  took  similar  toll,  till  the  poor  wretches  had 
nothing  left.  Presently  a  man  came  along  with  only 
one  stick,  and  I  felt  rather  ashamed  and  sorry  when 
this  was  taken  away  from  him,  and  he  proceeded  on 
his  way  looking  decidedly  crestfallen. 

Evidently  I  am  quite  the  filibuster,  I  reflected. 
Not  only  do  I  raid  cattle,  but  my  servants  rob  poor 
men  of  their  sugar  sticks. 

Burka,  January  5th.  — I  expected  trouble  this  morn- 
ing, but  the  mulemen  set  out  quite  tamely,  and  we 
have  clone  a  fairly  good  day  s  march.  When  we 
reached  the  Derru  telephone  station,  I  found  Merchant 
Prince  II.  waiting  to  wire  a  complaint.     I  gave  him 


ABYSSIXIA 


some  whiskey  and  a  cigarette,  and  these  seemed 
to  conquer  him  completely.  He  protested  that  the 
English  were  the  best  people  in  the  world  ;  he  would 
always  be  my  serv^ant  ;  he  would  find  fresh  mules  at 
Kunni,  Sec,  See.  He  sang  most  of  the  way  hither, 
and  insisted  on  holding  my  stirrup  every  time  I 
mounted  my  mule.  My  servants  are  delighted,  and 
my  prestige  (which  has  always  been  high  with  them) 
has  risen  to  the  skies.  If  all  goes  well  I  shall  have 
saved  at  least  a  week  by  this  coup  d'etat. 

Hirna.  January  6th. — Merchant  Prince  H.  is  growing- 
troublesome.  This  morning  he  absolutely  refused  to 
collect  the  mules  at  7.30  because  it  was  raining.  As  it 
rains  nearly  all  the  time,  we  should  not  get  on  very  fast. 

Shola  Kunni,  January  7th.—  Rain  everlasting.  I 
detect  grave  disinclination  all  round,  even  on  the  part 
of  my  own  men,  to  make  a  start  to-day. 

Borema,  January  8th. — This  morning  I  had  a  final 
battle  with  the  nagadi.  He  announced  that  he  would 
not  let  me  go  unless  I  killed  him.  I  said,  "  \'ery  well  ; 
anvthino-  to  oblige  vou."  I  went  into  mv  tent  and 
fetched  out  my  revolver.  I  sat  down  in  front  of  him 
caressing  it  ostentatiously.  He  began  to  hesitate  ; 
meanwhile  my  men  were  collecting  and  loading  the 
mules.  Abdi  told  him  I  should  certainly  shoot  him 
if  he  interfered  with  me.  Then  he  grew  frightened 
and  tried  to  impose  conditions.  If  he  let  me  go, 
would  I  do  so  and  so  } 

Certainly  not. 

\'ery  slowly  the  mules  were  laden,  while  I  waited 
and  waited  in  the  pitiless  rain. 


PLEASURES  OF  PILGRIMAGE  i6; 


As  I  set  out  at  last,  be  said  he  hoped  I  "  would  not 
put  bad  things  in  my  belly,"  by  which  he  meant  that 
I  would  not  bear  a  grudge  against  him. 

I  replied  by  pointing  to  my  revolver  and  saying 
I  should  like  to  put  some  of  its  bad  things  {i.e., 
bullets)  into  his  belly.  Then  he  entered  into  the 
humour  of  the  situation. 

After  that  I  had  no  further  friction  and  pressed 
on  to  Addis  Ababa  without  undue  delay. 

The  joy  of  arriving  at  last  !  But  I  could  not  help 
recalling  a  hymn  I  once  learned,  something  about 
"torn  sails,  provisions  short,  and  only  not  a  wreck." 


Chapter  VII 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 

Where  was  the  Capital  ?— The  British  Agency — Abyssinian  Architec- 
ture— A  Movable  Capital — Barracks— Locomotion — The  British 
Minister — Horses  and  Dogs — An  Abyssinian  Irishman — (Climate 
— Foreign  Legations — Captain  Ciccodicola — M.  Lagarde — Re- 
publican State — Russian  Officials — Market  Day — Horse-dealing 
— ^Audience  of  the  Emperor — The  Palace — Kissing  Hands — 
Presents — Sympathy  for  England — An  Impression  of  Menelik 
— Appearance  —  Manner — Education  —  Character — Detractors 
— The  Emperor's  Band — Habits — The  Empress. 

My  last  march  towards  the  capital  seemed  as  though 
it  would  never  end.  I  had  been  led  to  expect  that  I 
should  arrive  in  less  than  three  hours,  but  nearly  four 
had  rolled  by  before  I  happened  to  turn  round  and  ask 
one  of  my  men,  "  When  on  earth  are  we  ever  going  to 
reach  Addis  Ababa  ?  " 
-  But,  sah'b,  here  it  is." 
Where  ? " 

"  Here,  we  have  already  arrived." 

I  looked  around  incredulously,  and  saw  nothing 
but  a  few  summer-house  huts  and  an  occasional  white 
tent,  all  very  far  from  each  other,  scattered  about  over 
a  rough,  hilly  basin  at  the  foot  of  steep  hills.  I 
would  scarcely  admit  that  I  was  approaching  a  village. 
That  this  could  be  the  capital  of  a  great  empire,  the 
residence  of  the  Kinor  of  Kinirs,  seemed  monstrous 

if)8 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL  169 


and  out  of  the  question.  "Then,  pray,  where  is 
jVIenelik's  Palace?"  I  asked,  with  a  sneer.  The  men 
pointed  to  the  horizon,  and  I  could  just  make  out  what 
seemed  to  be  a  fairly  large  farmstead  with  a  number  of 
trees  and  huts  crouching  on  the  top  of  a  hill. 

As  we  advanced,  the  buildings  drew  slightly  more 
closely  together,  but  I  still  refused  to  recognise  a 


W  IILRK   I-  THE  CAl'ITAL 


town  in  the  wide  stretches  of  turf,  broken  by  deep 
ravines  and  studded  with  rare  summer-houses  and 
booth-like  tents. 

After  a  long  peregrination  we  arrived  at  the  British 
Agency  compound,  where  Captain  Harrington  was 
kind  enough  to  invite  me  to  pitch  my  camp.  The 
Agency  consists  of  some  eight  acres  of  ground  sur- 


I/O 


ABYSSL\IA 


rounded  by  a  mud  wall  three  or  four  feet  high,  and 
comprising-  a  number  of  tents  and  tukuls.  Properly 
plastered  and  decorated  inside,  furnished  with  civilised 
carpets,  chairs,  writing-tables,  and  wardrobes,  it  is 
amazing  how  comfortable  these  rude  cabins  can 
become.  Two  huoe  tents  serve  as  dininir-room  and 
drawing-room,  and  arouse  the  admiration  of  every- 
body by  their  magnificence.     Before  I  left.  Captain 


-menelik's  palace. 


Harrintrton  had  beo'un  to  build  himself  a  reoular 
house,  which  was  to  consist  of  some  eight  huts, 
connected  by  mud  passages  so  as  to  form  a  paral- 
lelogram enclosing  a  courtyard.  The  general  effect 
would  be  that  of  a  feudal  castle,  and  I  should 
not  wonder  if  by  this  time  it  is  already  complete. 
Once  you  can  induce  workmen  to  adhere  to  a  job  in 
Abyssinia,  they  call  buildings  into  being  almost  with 


MEXELIK  AXD  HIS  CAPITAL 


171 


the  rapidity  of  magic.  The  chief  cHfficulty  Hes  in  the 
fact  that  every  Abyssinian  hates  work.  He  thinks 
that  the  Gallas  or  some  other  slave  should  do  all  his 
work  for  him.  It  is  only  his  inordinate  greed  for 
money  that  ever  induces  him  to  stoop  to  manual 
labour.  When  builders  are  needy,  they  will  flock 
to  your  call  in  large  numbers  and  toil  away  for  a 
week  unless  vou  are  foolish  enouo^h  to  accede  to  their 


:..  Capt.  Powell-Cotton.  Mr  Harrison.  Mr.  Baird. 
BRITISH  AGEN'CY  COMPOUND. 


demand  for  payment  in  advance.  In  any  case  at  the 
end  of  a  week  they  will  insist  upon  being  paid  for 
what  they  have  done,  and  then  they  will  go  away  for 
a  fortnight  or  so  to  spend  the  money  they  have  earned. 
Neither  threats  nor  promises  are  of  the  least  avail  to 
lure  them  back  until  they  have  completed  their  orgy. 

They  are,  moreover,  extremely  lazy  while  at  work, 
and  it  is  only  by  employing  great  numbers  of  them 


ABYSSINIA 


that  you  shall  build  fast,  though  the  process  is 
excessively  easy.  A  circle  is  drawn  on  the  turf 
and  a  number  of  fairly  deep  holes  are  made  in  it. 
Into  these  are  planted  stout  sticks  some  eight  or 
ten  feet  lonof.  Great  buckets  of  mud  are  brouo^ht  to 
smear  against  them  and  in  a  day  or  two  they  have 
caked  quite  dry  in  the  sun  and  wind.  The  roof  is 
made  of  similar  sticks  laid  so  as  to  taper  to  a  point, 


BUILDING, 
(i)  A  circle  is  made  in  the  ground. 


and  finally  covered  with  thick  thatch.  The  thatching 
is  really  very  artistic,  and  constitutes  perhaps  the  only 
successful  Abyssinian  industry.  A  few  days  after 
the  thatch  has  been  completed  your  tukul  is  ready 
to  be  occupied. 

Regular  houses  are  very  rare,  and  consist  for  the 
most  part  of  glorified  tukuls  two  or  three  or  four  times 
the  usual  diameter,  which  is  rarely  more  than  nine  feet. 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL  173 


The  Emperor  and  a  few  of  the  foreign  representatives 
have  succeeded  in  causing  stone  buildings  to  be 
erected,  but  only  by  the  use  of  forced  labour  and  with 
very  indifferent  results. 

Some  nine  years  ago  Menelik's  capital  was  at 
Entotto,  a  couple  of  hours'  ride  up  the  hill  behind 
Addis  Ababa.  Now  only  two  churches  and  a  few 
brown   ruins  remain   of  a  tow^i  which  must  have 


BUILDING. 

(2)  Stout  sticks  are  planted. 


comprised  fifty  thousand  souls.  The  reason  of  its 
abandonment  was  that  all  the  wood  had  been  ex- 
hausted for  building  and  fuel.  The  Abyssinians  are 
most  improvident  in  the  matter  of  wood,  cutting  down 
forests  in  a  haphazard  way  and  never  troubling 
to  replant.  The  consequences  of  this  are  already 
being  felt  at  Addis  Ababa ;  wood  is  now  brought 
thither   from   a   distance   of   sixteen   miles,    and  it 


174  ABYSSINIA 

is  certain  that  within  a  very  short  space  of  time 
Menelik  will  be  obhged  to  shift  his  capital  once  more 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  fresh  woods.  This  is  not 
by  any  means  the  hardship  which  it  would  be  in  a 
civilised  country.  The  capital  is  rather  a  camp  than 
a  town,  and  there  is  no  particular  trouble  in  rooting 
up  a  tukul  and  planting  it  elsewhere. 

The  only  other  form  of  architecture  which  remains 


BUILDINC. 

(3)  The  roof  is  made  of  similar  sticks. 


to  be  described  consists  of  the  hovels  where  the  soldiers 
go.  These  barracks  can  only  be  compared  to  a  number 
of  hollow  haystacks  or  mows,  which  cover  enormous 
stretches  of  ground,  figuring  in  a  bird's-eye  view  like  a 
flock  of  sheep.  Their  furniture  consists  of  litde  more 
than  a  gun  and  a  pan  or  two,  and  they  are  scarcely 
more  elaborate  than  the  lair  of  a  wild  animal,  merely 
serving  to  keep  out  the  wind  and  wet. 


MEXELIK   AXD  HIS  CAPITAL 


To  appreciate  Addis  Ababa  it  is  necessary  to  realise 
that  this  strange  capital  covers  some  fifty  square  miles, 
and  contains  a  very  large  population,  which  has  never 
been  numbered.  Streets  there  are  none,  and  to  go 
from  one  part  of  the  town  to  the  other  you  must  simply 
bestride  your  mule  and  prepare  to  ride  across  country. 
Three-quarters  of  an  hour  at  least  are  necessary  for  a 
pilgrimage  from  the  British  Agency  to  the  Palace,  and 


THATlHINw. 


as  much  again  to  the  market.  On  either  of  these 
journeys  you  must  cross  three  or  four  deep  ravines 
with  stony,  precipitous  banks  and  a  torrent-bed  full  of 
slippery  boulders.  Generally  in  the  course  of  any 
expedition  I  chanced  to  cross  a  single  rail,  which 
seemed  to  lead  nowhere.  I  had  some  difficulty  in 
meetino^  with  anv  one  who  knew  the  use  or  meanino- 
of  this.  At  last  I  learned  that  it  had  been  laid  for  the 
purpose  of  conveying  goods  and  building  material  to 


i;6 


ABYSSINIA 


and  fro,  but  the  Abyssinians  are  so  conservative  that 
nothnig  would  induce  them  to  spare  themselves  labour 
by  making  use  of  it.  Similarly,  when  the  Emperor 
introduced  wheelbarrows,  labourers  only  made  use  of 
them  when  they  were  under  their  master's  eye. 
Directly  they  were  left  to  their  own  devices,  they 


ADDIS  ABABA. 


hastened  to  return  to  their  old  accustomed  method 
of  carrying  things  on  their  backs. 

Life  at  the  capital  is  not  likely  to  commend  itself  to 
many  travellers.  Indeed  I  should  not  have  enjoyed 
it  myself  save  for  the  society  of  Captain  Harrington. 
He  is  quite  a  young  man,  and  has  carved  his 
career  with  unexampled  rapidity,  distinguishing  him- 
self in  the  Indian  Army,  then  as  a  "  Political,"  being 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


177 


made  Consul  at  Zaila  by  the  Indian  Government, 
remaining  there  after  the  transfer  of  Somaliland  to  the 
Foreign  Office,  and  now  two  years  ago,  being  accredited 
as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Imperial  Court  of 
Ethiopia.  When  he  arrived  Menelik  was  virtually 
under  the  thumb  of  the  French  and  Russians,  who 
had  had  everything  their  own  way,  and  it  is  a 
great  triumph  that  he  should  so  quickly  have  con- 


ADDIS  ABABA. 


trived  to  oust  them  from  the  Emperors  good  graces. 
His  success  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  His  Majesty 
has  taken  a  strong  personal  fancy  to  Captain  Harring- 
ton. It  is  almost  the  first  time  that  any  European  has 
come  to  him  without  wanting  something,  and  this  has 
influenced  him  enormously,  not  merely  in  his  apprecia- 
tion of  our  representative,  but  also  in  his  estimate  of 
our  country.    Moreover,  as  Captain  Harrington  has 

N 


178 


ABYSSIXIA 


remarked  to  me,  we  have  this  advantage — that  English 
visitors  to  Abyssinia  have  nearly  always  been  gentle- 
men, whereas  the  various  foreign  adventurers  are  of  a 
very  different  kidney.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  may 
continue  to  be  the  case,  for  if  Captain  Harrington 
heard  of  the  approach  of  any  undesirable  visitor,  he 


A  RAVINE  IX  THE  CAPITAL. 


would  only  need  to  give  Menelik  a  hint  and  per- 
mission to  travel  up  would  be  refused. 

He  afforded  me  some  interesting  information  as  to 
the  success  of  Indians  who  have  settled  in  Abyssinia. 
They  are  completely  cutting  out  the  French  merchants, 
who  have  already  begun  to  complain  bitterly  about 
the  competition.  The  fact  is  that  an  Indian  can  travel 
about  with  one  servant  and  a  minimum  of  personal 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


179 


baggage,  whereas  a  French  merchant  travels  Hke  a 
prince,  with  great  retinue  and  every  conceivable  luxury. 
Moreover,  the  Frenchmen  give  themselves  ridiculous 
airs.  One  of  their  shopkeepers,  who  had  been  sum- 
moned to  the  Palace,  sent  in  after  ten  minutes  to  say 
that  he  would  not  wait  any  longer.    The  Indians  also 


A  RAVINE  IN  THK  CAPITAL. 


derive  considerable  assistance  from  the  weekly  post, 
which  any  British  subject  is  allowed  to  use,  while  the 
French  postal  service  is  unsafe  and  irregular. 

The  French  are  for  ever  complaining  that  their 
traders  cannot  make  a  success  in  Abyssinia,  or,  indeed, 
anywhere  else.  But  they  expect  too  much  too  quickly, 
and  I  can  throw  a  little  light  upon  a  system  of  sharp 
practice,  which  may  pay  for  a  moment,  but  cannot 


ABYSSINIA 


answer  permanently.  Before  my  departure  from 
Addis  Ababa,  I  had  occasion  to  visit  the  store  of  one 
of  the  leading  French  traders,  as  some  of  my  supplies 
were  running  out.  He  showed  me  several  shelves  of 
bottles,  and  I  noticed  in  the  two  lower  ones  some  very 
elaborate  labels  :  "Grande  Marque  Extra  Fine,"  and 
all  the  rest  of  it.  Moreover,  many  bottles  were 
done  up  in  wire-netting,  like  the  very  choicest  and 
oldest  brands  in  Europe.  My  curiosity  was  pricked 
as  to  the  market  which  the  man  could  hope  to  find  for 
such  luxuries  in  the  heart  of  Abyssinia,  but  he  said 
with  a  smile,  "  I  don't  recommend  those.  They  are 
intended  for  the  natives,  and  contain  the  filthiest 
muck  you  ever  imagined."  This  struck  me  as  a 
very  eloquent  as  well  as  a  very  frank  summary  of 
PVench  colonial  trade. 

Captain  Harrington  had  secured  a  number  of  fine 
Abyssinian  horses,  which  ouofht  to  thrive  well  under 
the  supervision  of  a  shrewd  English  groom.  When  I 
was  there  he  had  also  a  number  of  beautiful  Arabs, 
which  were  resting  after  their  journey  before  they 
should  be  presented  to  the  Emperor.  They  seemed 
to  me  to  have  travelled  very  well;  but  the  same  cannot 
be  said  of  the  dogs  which  had  accompanied  them.  A 
number  of  greyhounds,  also  intended  for  His  Majesty, 
had  required  a  great  deal  of  coddling  on  the  journey. 
They  even  wore  leather  shoes,  and  on  the  first  sign  of 
fatigue  were  carried  in  panniers  on  camel  or  muleback. 
The  amusino-  thino-  about  this  was  that  a  semi-native 
dog,  which  had  been  to  Egypt  with  Lord  Lovat 
and  had  now  been  brought  back  by  Mr.  Baird,'  the 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


i8i 


attache,  seeing  that  the  (3ther  dogs  were  carried, 
immediately  pretended  to  be  lame  and  insisted  on 
being  carried  also. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  sight  at  the  Agency 
was  an  Irishman  named  McKelvie,  who  was  imprisoned 
m  Abyssinia  at  the  time  of  Lord  Napier's  expedition, 
and  after  the  relief  of  Magdala  preferred  to  remain  on 
in  the  country.  He  married  an  Abyssinian  wife,  has 
Abyssinian  children,  lives  in  an  Abyssinian  house, 
wears  the  Abyssinian  shamma  with  its  broad  red 
band,  walks  about  barefoot,  mounts  a  horse  in  the 
Abyssinian  fashion  from  the  right-hand  side,  and  rides 
with  his  bio-  toe  inside  the  hook  which  does  dutv  for 
an  Abyssinian  stirrup  :  indeed,  is  in  many  respects 
more  Abyssinian  than  the  Abyssinians  themsehes. 
He  ought  to  be  persuaded  to  provide  the  materials  for 
a  book  about  all  the  wonderful  adventures  he  has  had 
during  the  last  thirty  years,  taking  part  in  a  variety  of 
civil  wars,  beino-  more  than  once  condemned  to  death, 
and  undergoing  all  sorts  of  mortal  perils.  Unfortu- 
nately, however,  he  is  very  chary  of  recounting  his 
exploits,  and  most  of  them  have  to  be  gleaned  more 
or  less  inaccurately  second-hand. 

I  should  imao-ine  the  orgeat  drawback  to  life  at  this 
Aorencv  must  be  its  remoteness  and  loneliness.  Think 
of  that  interminable  journey  to  and  fro  every  time  you 
want  a  summer  holiday,  and  how  twenty-four  days  for 
a  letter  from  England  is  considered  extraordinarily 
good  going.  The  English  post  comes  and  goes  once 
a  week,  taking  some  six  days  from  Harrar,  and  the 
chief  employment  is  looking  forward  to  its  arrival. 


I82 


ABYSSINIA 


Add  to  all  this  that  the  climate  is  exceedingly  dis- 
agreeable, though  not,  I  believe,  unhealthy.  The  days 
are  generally  unpleasantly  hot  and  the  nights  often 
painfully  cold.  My  thermometer  always  dropped  at 
least  40°  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  at  sunset, 
and  then  a  boisterous  wind  would  arise  and  threaten 
to  blow  the  tent  inside  out.  It  was  quite  an  ex- 
perience to  make  my  way  over  the  three  hundred 
yards  of  rough  ground  which  separated  my  quarters 
from  the  dining-room  on  a  pitch  dark  night,  with  a 
gale  that  always  blew  out  the  lantern  before  I  had 
advanced  many  steps.  Again  and  again  I  tripped  in 
a  hole  and  fell  headlong. 

The  various  European  Legations  divide  themselves 
into  two  camps,  French  and  Russians  against  English 
and  Italians,  and  concern  themselves  with  little  else 
than  political  intrigue.  For  years  the  French  and 
Russians  had  it  all  their  own  way,  and  seemed  likely 
to  establish  a  sphere  of  influence,  if  not  a  direct 
control.  Italy  had  intended  to  absorb  the  country, 
but  her  hopeless  defeat  in  a  pitched  battle  compelled 
her  to  take  with  shame  the  lowest  place.  Ever  since, 
she  has  been  slowlv  recoverino-  an  influence,  and  that 
solely  through  the  tact  and  discretion  of  Captain 
Ciccodicola,  her  diplomatic  representative  at  Addis 
Ababa.  He  has  far  and  away  the  best,  I  had  almost 
written  the  only,  house  there,  and  is  empowered  to 
spend  secret  service  money  lavishly  in  a  country 
where  money  is  particularly  potent.  He  is  viewed 
with  suspicion,  of  course,  but  he  is  fortunate  in  having 
the  moral  support  of  the  British  representative,  and 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL  183 


feelings  of  soreness  against  Italy  seem  to  be  passing 
away.  After  all,  the  Abyssinians  consider  that  they 
conquered  not  so  much  one  European  nation  as  the 
representative  of  all  "redskins."  And  they  are  always 
impressed  by  outward  show.  To  them  the  palatial 
Leofation,  with  its  succession  of  luxurious  saloons, 
filled  with  costly  ornaments,  pictures,  divans,  stuffed 
polar  bears,  and  other  marvels,  is  ever  eloquent. 
How  it  can  all  be  kept  up  in  a  place  whither  every 
single  thing  must  be  imported  laboriously  over 
thousands  of  miles,  by  sea  and  desert,  affords  a 
standing  wonder.  He  is  also  very  ingenious  in  his 
maintenance  of  semi-reoral  state.  In  his  outer  court- 
yard  I  noticed  an  array  of  soldiers  carrying  guns 
ostentatiously  and  wearing  caps  of  curious  green 
and  white  tartan  pattern.  There  were  considerable 
formalities  about  taking  in  my  card  from  the  porch. 
When  at  last  I  was  bidden  into  the  courtyard,  I  was 
solemnly  saluted  by  the  soldiers,  and  one  of  them 
crept  up  into  a  strange  open  summer-house  to  beat  a 
gong. 

The  French  Minister  also  seeks  to  impose.  I 
should  be  sorry  to  sneer  at  him  personally,  for  he 
received  me  very  courteously  and  is,  I  am  convinced, 
far  too  good  for  his  place.  Indeed,  I  have  often 
observed  that  the  most  admirable  Frenchmen  are 
those  who  are  most  remote  from  republican  ranee. 
Still,  he  is  the  representative  of  a  corrupt  and 
theatrical  country,  and  his  point  of  view  is  only 
intelligible  to  an  Englishman  by  the  utmost  stretch 
of  indulgence.     He  persuaded  Menelik  to  create  him 


ABYSSINIA 


Duke  of  Entotto,  and  mischievous  friends  make  a 
point  of  collecting  His  Grace's  visiting  cards.  He 
goes  down  to  the  coast  stretched  out  at  full  length 
on  a  litter,  and  the  natives  wonder  why  he  "  travels 
like  a  woman."  His  Legation  is  not  so  fine  as  that  of 
his  Italian  colleague,  but  it  is  far  more  pretentious, 
and  covers  a  o'reat  deal  more  eround. 

I  passed  through  a  succession  of  enclosures,  each 
with  a  zareba  wall.  In  the  outer  one  were  a  number 
of  tukuls  with  natives  hanging  about  them.  Then  I 
came  to  a  barbaric  gateway  of  mud  and  thatch  with 
three  doors,  held  open  by  a  long  piece  of  wire.  This 
led  to  the  second  yard,  planted  all  round  with  very 
small  eucalyptus  trees.  There  was  a  certain  sense  of 
tidiness  everywhere,  most  unusual  in  Addis  Ababa. 
Some  native  servants  motioned  me  to  halt,  and 
one  of  them  took  in  mv  card.  After  a  fairlv  \onQ- 
interval,  I  was  invited  to  enter.  Passing  up  a  narrow 
yard,  bordered  by  more  baby  eucalyptus  trees,  I  came 
upon  the  Agency,  a  glorified  tukul  whitewashed  and 
surmounted  with  red  ninepins.  I  was  shown  into  a 
throne-room,  which  resembled  an  astrolooer's  cabinet. 
Everything  was  draped  in  red  and  blue  cotton.  The 
walls  formed  a  background  of  red  covered  with  stars 
and  lines  and  other  cabalistic  designs  in  blue.  A  gilt 
throne  with  an  absurd  little  chair  on  either  side  stood 
upon  a  dais  beneath  a  tent-like  structure  of  the 
favourite  red,  white,  and  blue  cotonnade.  By  the 
wall  facing  the  throne  was  a  long  row  of  ordinary 
cane  chairs  for  the  courtiers.  A  long  table,  the 
floor,  the  ceiling,  and  the  curtain  were  all  swathed 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL  185 


in  the  same  garish  stars  and  stripes.  Formerly  M. 
Lagarde  used  to  sit  on  his  throne  to  receive  every- 
body, even  an  EngHshman,  but  now  he  has  been 
laughed  out  of  this  and  he  chats  with  our  countrymen 
on  an  equal  footing.  But  with  his  own  republicans,  I 
understand,  he  still  makes  use  of  his  throne. 

I  was  left  to  myself,  amid  these  amusing  surround- 
ings, for  some  minutes.  Then  one  of  the  astrologer's 
curtains  was  moved  away  from  a  door  and  a  dapper 
little  Frenchman  came  in.  He  received  me  very 
politely,  and,  after  asking  if  I  had  had  a  pleasant 
journey,  he  looked  down  at  his  tweed  coat  and  duck 
trousers  and  said  he  owed  me  infinite  apologies  for 
receiving  me  in  such  a  garb,  but  the  fact  was  he 
intended  to  go  off  on  a  shooting  expedition  on 
the  morrow.  As  I  was  also  in  tweeds,  this  was 
evidently  an  ingenious  reproof  to  me  for  not  having 
donned  more  ceremonious  attire.  I  do  not  know 
whether  he  expected  me  to  put  on  dress-clothes  for 
an  afternoon  call,  as  though  he  were  a  sovereign 
instead  of  the  representative  of  a  republic.  I  was 
not  going  to  admit  any  such  claim,  so  I  contented 
myself  with  replying  that  it  was  very  kind  of  him  to 
receive  me  at  all. 

Next  day  the  French  Consul  came  to  return  my  call 
with  the  apologies  of  his  chief,  who  had  started  on  his 
shooting  expedition.  This  led  the  conversation  on  to 
the  subject  of  sport,  and  the  Consul  inquired  of  Captain 
Harrington,  "  Do  you  ever  attempt  to  shoot  a  bird 
flying  ?  Ah,  but  that  is  very  difficult.  That  needs 
great  nerve,  great  presence  of  mind,   great  adroit- 


ABYSSINIA 


ness.  I  myself  prefer  to  aim  at  him  when  he 
is  sitting  quietly  beside  a  bush,  for  then  I  have 
a  much  better  chance.  But  I  confess  I  do  not 
much  like  going  out  with  M.  Lagarde.  He  is  too 
energetic  for  me.  besides  he  is  so  very  particular 
that  ex'erything  should  be  done  in  the  approved  way. 
For  instance,  one  day  w^e  w^ere  after  wildfowl  round 
a  lake.  He  remained  on  one  side  and  I  went  to 
the  other.  As  the  birds  were  between  us,  it  was  not 
unnatural  that  some  of  my  shot  should  hit  him  in 
the  leg,  but  would  you  believe  it  ?  he  lost  his  temper 
about  it,  and  wanted  to  lay  the  blame  on  me." 

The  Russians  also  keep  up  a  great  deal  of  state.  I 
did  not  see  the  Minister,  who  had  just  lost  his  wife,  an 
Englishwoman,  and  was  receiving  nobody.  But  as 
I  was  travelling  up  to  the  capital  I  met  a  long 
procession  of  Russian  soldiers,  fair  men  rigged  out  in 
the  regular  Russian  uniform  with  high  peaked  caps. 
I  could  not  imagine  what  they  could  possibly  be  at, 
but  I  learned  that  they  were  merely  escorting  a  couple 
of  attaches  down  to  Harrar.  On  the  slightest  provoca- 
tion, the  Russian  officials  take  out  with  them  huge 
military  retinues,  knowing  that  that  is  the  very  best 
way  of  impressing  the  snobbish  Abyssinians.  Indeed 
no  effort  has  been  spared  by  the  Russian  Government 
to  establish  an  influence  in  Abyssinia.  All  sorts  of 
presents  have  been  lavished  upon  the  Emperor,  and  as 
an  ingenious  short  cut  to  popularity  with  the  people  a 
number  of  Russian  doctors  have  been  sent  out  and  a 
Russian  hospital  has  been  built,  where  the  people  are 
attended  free  of  charge. 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


Perhaps  the  chief  interest  in  Addis  Ababa  is  afforded 
by  the  market,  which  is  most  frequented  on  Saturdays, 
but  also  attracts  a  certain  amount  of  traffic  any  morn- 
ing except  Sunday,  which  your  Abyssinian  observes 
almost  as  strictly  as  your  Scot. 

Imagine  a  broad  piece  of  rough  ground,  approached 
from  a  precipitous  ravine.     Every  path  or  track  was 


ox  THE  WAY  TO  MARKET. 


thronged  with  men,  women,  and  children,  going  or 
coming  with  great  loads  of  merchandise  or  driving- 
small  flocks  before  them.  When  Saturday's  market 
hove  in  sight  I  was  amazed  by  the  density  of  the  mob  ; 
there  seemed  scarcely  a  square  foot  to  spare  anywhere. 
Conspicuous  above  everything  and  everybody  were 
two  bird's-nest  constructions,  like  small  haystacks  on 


i88  ABYSSINIA 

stilts.  Here  squatted  officials  whose  business  it  was 
to  settle  disputes,   register  sales,  and  collect  tolls. 


Judging  from  the  clamours  of  the  crowd  which  surged 
all  round,  the  proceedings  there  seemed  to  be  lively. 


MENELIK  AxND  HIS  CAPITAL  189 


I  discovered  at  last  that  the  whole  place  was  cut  up 
into  rude  paths,  lined  with  low  hedges  of  stones,  where 
the  sellers  had  rano^ed  themselves  with  their  wares. 
As  it  was  impossible  to  force  one's  way  over  a  wall 
without  stepping  into  honey  or  crockery  and  generally 
disarranging  the  wares  of  a  short-tempered  people, 


THE  RECJULATION  STRAW-UMBRELLA. 
(Addis  Ababa  Market.) 


enormous  circuits  were  necessary  to  reach  any  given 
point.  It  was  like  trying  to  take  a  short  cut  in  a 
maze.  Most  people  carried  the  regulation  straw 
umbrella  of  Abyssinia,  which  cannot  be  closed, 
which  is  carried  in  all  weathers  rather  as  a  badgre 
than  as  a  protection,  and  which  always  reminds 
me  of   Robinson   Crusoe.     Many   men   wore  very 


190 


ABYSSINIA 


gaudy  straw  hats  with  brilHant  ribbons  twisted  in 
and  out.  I  remarked  to  a  man  at  random,  "  Where 
did  you  get  that  hat?"  and  he  repHed,  "I  made  it 
myself." 

As  in  Oriental  bazaars,  as  in  mediaeval  England, 
the  various  departments  of  trade  cling  together. 
Here  were  all  the  purveyors  of  cheap  imported 
wares,  which  seemed  indeed  to  predominate  in  the 
market:  tin  cans,  enamelled  pots  and  pans,  very  thin 
Indian  silks,  coarse  cloths,  garish  chromo-lithographs 
of  religious  subjects.  There  had  been  a  better  set 
out  in  a  suburban  fair  at  home.  Dirty  pots  of 
slimy  honey  covered  an  unduly  large  area ;  very 
unappetising  it  looked,  and  I  was  told  it  must  be 
boiled  and  strained  of  dead  bees  before  even  an 
Abyssinian  will  discuss  it.  A  few  mangy  skins, 
leopards'  for  the  most  part,  were  held  aloft  like  flags 
to  attract  buyers'  attention.  They  were  cheap  enough, 
but  as  they  had  all  been  cut  for  w^ear  over  a  native's 
shoulder,  they  did  not  tempt  me  very  much.  A  street 
was  thronged  with  armourers,  the  favourite  weapon 
being  a  long,  curved  sword,  known  as  the  dervish. 
I  was  tempted  by  one  of  unusual  length,  but  the 
unpractical  tradesman  had  no  scabbard  for  it  ready- 
made.  The  hilts  are  usually  sold  separately  according 
to  taste. 

•  The  jewellery  department  was  chiefly  presided  over 
by  women,  who  are  reputed  even  harder  bargainers 
than  the  men  in  Abyssinia.  They  had  so  little  variety, 
and  that  so  vastly  inferior  to  what  I  had  already  found 
at  Harrar,  that  I  went  away  pursewhole.    Silver  and 


MEXELIK  AXD  HIS  CAPITAL  191 


brass  are  the  favourite  metals.  Nor  were  there  any 
novelties  in  the  way  of  spears  and  shields.  I  had 
hoped  to  find,  as  at  Nijni-Novgorod,  examples  of 
all  the  most  curious  produce  of  the  empire.  But 
nearly  all  the  wares  were  purely  local,  as  was,  after 
all,  to  be  expected  in  a  country  where  communications 
are  so  sparely  developed. 


MULE  MARKPLT,  ADDIS  ABABA. 


Cattle,  horses,  mules,  and  donkeys,  each  had  their 
separate  department.  Abdi  secured  some  fine  horned 
sheep  for  the  return  journey,  and  I  was  minded  to  do 
a  deal  in  donkeys.  They  carry  nearly  as  much  as 
mules,  and  are  reputed  to  cost  only  eight  or  ten 
shillings  apiece,  and  I  reflected  that  it  would  be 
much  cheaper   to   buy   them   and  sell   them  again 


\92 


ABVSSIXIA 


rather  than  hire  so  many  mules.  However,  I  found 
I  could  get  nothing  worth  having  under  a  pound, 
and  my  attempts  at  bargaining  were  firmly  refused. 

Abdi  begged  me  very  hard  to  buy  a  horse,  to  be 
ridden  alternately  by  him  and  the  cook  and  any 
one  who  might  fall  ill.  He  assured  me  I  could  get 
a  very  fine  piece  of  horseflesh  for  ^2,  which  was  one- 
half  or  one-third  of  the  price  of  a  mule.  I  let  him 
conduct  me  to  the  local  Tattersall,  where  a  number 
of  Abyssinians  were  galloping  long-tailed  animals 
furiously  up  and  down  an  open  space  to  tempt  the 
unwary.  I  pointed  to  two  whose  paces  attracted  me, 
and,  ascertaining  that  I  might  have  either  for  ^3  with 
his  harness,  I  told  him  to  have  them  sent  to  the  British 
Agency  for  inspection  by  Captain  Harrington's  groom. 
Alas  !  one  of  them  proved  to  have  a  wall  eye  and  the 
others  back  w^as  hopelessly  sore.  Evidently  horse- 
dealing  is  much  the  same  all  the  world  over. 

I  talked  a  good  deal  with  Captain  Harrington  about 
the  preservation  of  big  game,  which  has  lately  been 
arousing  a  good  deal  of  interest  on  the  conclusion  of 
an  international  convention.  He  feels  very  strongly 
on  the  subject,  remarking  that  Somaliland,  the  best 
sporting  country  in  the  world,  is  practically  a  preserve 
for  Englishmen.  Regulations  have  to  be  enforced  or 
all  the  game  would  be  killed  off.  So,  too,  in  Abyssinia. 
The  law  is  that  the  first  tusk  which  touches  the  ground 
belongs  to  the  Emperor,  but  practically  he  expects  to 
receive  both  tusks,  and  any  Englishmen  who  come 
out  to  shoot  elephants  will  now  offer  him  all  the 
ivory  they  take.     In  the  case  of  a  party  of  sportsmen 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


193 


who  passed  through  last  winter,  the  Emperor  allowed 
each  member  to  take  home  a  couple  of  tusks  to  show 
what  the  country  can  produce,  but  Captain  Harring- 
ton exacted  their  word  of  honour  that  they  would 
not  take  more. 

Sportsmen  must  go  several  clays'  journey  away  to 
find  anything  worth  shooting,  and  really  the  only 
object  of  interest  within  easy  access  of  Addis  Ababa 
is  the  old  capital  of  Entotto,  a  pleasant  place  for 
a  picnic  amid  the  forlorn  remains  of  the  old  palace. 
So  complete  and  extensive  a  set  of  ruins  less  than 
ten  years  old  is  probably  an  unique  spectacle,  though, 
judging  by  the  darkness  of  the  stones,  they  might 
easily  be  hundreds  of  years  old. 

When  I  reached  Addis  Ababa  I  was  told  that  I  had 
come  at  a  very  inopportune  moment  if  I  wanted  to 
see  the  Emperor  Menelik.  He  was  now  particularly 
friendly  towards  English  people,  but,  owing  to  a  recent 
indiscretion,  he  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  any  one 
however  remotely  connected  with  the  press. 

Hearing  this,  I  had  very  small  hopes  of  being 
favoured  with  an  audience,  particularly  as  I  only 
arrived  on  a  Saturday,  and  His  Majesty  was  announced 
to  be  starting  on  a  journey  of  several  months  on 
the  following  Tuesday.  However,  the  Emperor's 
sympathy  for  Englishmen  prevailed,  and  I  was 
informed  that  I  should  be  received  at  4.30  on 
the  Monday  afternoon.  Menelik's  habit  is  to  fix 
audiences  for  five  or  six  in  the  morning,  as  he 
transacts  most  of  his  business  in  the  small  hours, 
but  he  makes  an  exception  in  favour  of  English 

O 


194 


ABYSSINIA 


people,  having  gathered  from  Captain  Harrington's 
habits  that  we  are  not  such  early  risers. 

I  set  out  with  the  interpreter  of  the  Legation,  an 
Abyssinian  educated  at  Beyrouth,  who  rode  a  white 
horse  with  a  fine  long  tail,  and  wore  amazing  long 
yellow  boots,  a  blue  jacket,  a  flannel  shirt,  and  a 
great  air  of  horsey  importance.  I  rode  my  sorry 
mule  and  felt  rather  incongruous  in  dress  clothes, 
pumps,  and  a  khaki  helmet.  If  it  would  not  have 
been  irreverent,  I  could  almost  have  laughed  at 
myself.  However,  the  Xegus  makes  a  great  point  of 
it  that  Europeans  shall  come  to  him  in  dress-clothes. 

The  Ghebi  (Palace)  enclosure  is  walled  in  by  a 
high  zareba  of  thick  sticks  with  brambles  tied  to  the 
middle.  After  skirting  this  for  a  long  way,  we  found 
a  door  some  five  or  six  feet  wide.  Out  of  this  all 
manner  of  people  and  horses  were  streaming,  in 
preparation  for  the  sovereign's  departure  on  the 
morrow.  There  was  an  abrupt  ascent  to  the  door 
and  a  big  log  of  wood  to  cross.  We  found  ourselves 
in  an  oblong  courtyard,  with  a  rough,  flagged  path  in 
the  centre  and  long  native  buildings  on  either  side. 
All  sorts  of  people  w^ere  lounging  about,  many  squat- 
ting in  corners  and  others  bustling  with  water  jars, 
provision  baskets,  8cc.  ]\Iany  women  with  loaves  were 
preparing  to  follow  the  cavalcade  which  I  met  on  my 
w^ay,  carrying  portions  of  Menelik's  tent  for  his  first 
camping-place  on  the  morrow. 

Another  doorway  led  into  another  courtyard,  where 
many  similar  people  were  bustling  about.  We  seemed 
to  ascend  from  courtyard  to  courtyard  interminably. 


MENELIK  AXD  HIS  CAPITAL 


195 


At  leneth  we  were  bee^'ed  to  dismount,  and  we  made 
our  way  on  foot  through  another  doorway  into  another 
courtyard,  which  was  much  larger  than  any  which  had 
preceded  it.  On  our  left  was  a  pagoda-like  building 
with  open  wooden  arches  and  woodwork  carved  like 
the  shutters  of  a  harem.  This  was  the  approach  to 
Menelik's  pavilion,  a  gimcrack  wooden  edifice  with 
many  feeble  columns  and  verandahs  covered  with 
faded  paintings,  altogether  suggestive  of  worn-out 
scenery.  At  the  front  of  a  kind  of  stage  over- 
looking the  courtyard  was  a  very  black  Abyssinian, 
leaning  back  in  his  chair,  exhibiting  the  usual  femi- 
nine vanity,  and  talking  with  the  usual  high-pitched 
voice,  which  are  the  two  most  strikino^  characteristics 
of  Abyssinians. 

The  Master  of  the  Horse,  whom  I  had  already  met 
at  the  British  xAgency,  came  running  clown  the  steps 
and  shook  hands  with  us.  He  went  off  to  tell  His 
Majesty  that  we  had  arrived,  and  we  retired  into  the 
shade  of  the  other  side  of  the  courtyard  with  a  man 
who  was  carrying  a  box  of  presents  from  Captain 
Harrington  and  m.yself.  Behind  us  was  the  Hall  of 
Justice,  a  circular  building,  where  the  Emperor 
appears  on  a  verandah  and  decides  any  legal  cases 
that  mav  be  submitted  to  him.  On  our  riorht,  below 
the  courtyard  where  we  were  standing,  was  the  long 
banqueting  hall,  where  10,000  Abyssinians  are  feasted 
with  raw  meat  on  orrand  occasions.  We  waited  about 
twenty  minutes,  and  then  at  last  we  were  summoned. 
We  passed  through  the  Hall  of  Audience,  where 
I   espied  an  enormous  satin  pillow,   on  which  the 


196  ABYSSINIA 

Emperor  seats  himself  to  receive  the  representatives 
of  foreign  Powers  ;  up  some  grass  terraces  and  paved 
steps  ;  up  an  unfinished  circular  tower  staircase, 
from    which    a    kind   of    bridge    led    to  Menelik's 


i 


MENELIK. 

private  verandah,  entered  by  a  double  door  of  slate 
blue. 

I  could  see  the  Xeofus  sittino-  on  a  cane  chair  cross- 
legged  some  seconds  before  I  reached  the  presence. 
A    number    of    common-looking    Abyssinians  were 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


197 


lounorintr  about,  savinor  and  doinor  nothincr.  There 
was  nothinor  to  distinoruish  them,  not  even  a  Httle 
extra  cleanHness,  from  ordinary  Abyssinian  peasants. 
A  small  crrandson  with  a  scrofulous  head,  dingy 
clothes,  and  bare  feet,  held  on  to  the  back  of  the 
Emperor's  chair  all  through  my  audience.  In  the 
background  were  a  number  of  painted  panels.  On 
one  of  these  I  noticed  a  peacock  above,  a  vase  oi 
flowers  in  the  middle,  and  a  white  horse  below  ;  on 
another  a  cock,  some  flowers,  and  an  elephant.  They 
were  all  gaudy  and  badly  done,  but  the  horse  was 
worst  of  all. 

There  was  no  ceremony  of  introduction.  The  only 
movement  Menelik  made  was  to  hold  out  his  hand  to  me. 
I  had  discussed  the  question  of  kissing  it  with  various 
people,  and  the  Russians  in  particular  had  been  very 
firm  in  impressing  upon  me  how  ignoble  it  would 
be  for  a  white  man  thus  to  demean  himself  before  a 
black.  I  have,  however,  been  brought  up  to  reve- 
rence sovereigns,  so  I  bent  down  and  pressed  my  lips 
to  the  hand  of  the  descendant  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba. 
He  appeared  surprised,  and  said  "  Um — m"  in  a  tone 
which  expressed  unexpected  satisfaction. 

"  When  did  vou  arrive  ? "  he  beo-an,  but  did  not 
wait  for  an  answer,  the  more  particularly  because  he 
knew  very  well,  being  kept  constantly  informed  of  the 
movements  of  every  European  within  his  dominions. 
He  went  on  to  ask  the  interpreter  a  variety  of 
questions  about  me,  but  gave  him  no  time  to  translate 
them.  Then  he  motioned  me  to  a  chair  similar  to  his 
own  immediately  facing  him. 


198 


ABYSSINIA 


I  had  noticed  that  his  eye  kept  wandering  to  the 
box  of  presents,   which  a  servant  from  the  British 
Agency    had    brought    with    us.    Now    he  looked 
straight  at  it  as   though   to  inquire  what  we  had 
there.    The  interpreter  took  the  hint,  and  the  box  was 
brought  forward.     It  had  been  an  anxious  question  to 
know  what  would  be  the  best  present  for  me  to  bring. 
It  is  etiquette  to  bring  something,  and  probably  has 
been  etiquette  in  Ethiopia  for  thousands  of  years. 
Your  present  is  regarded  in  the  nature  of  tribute,  and 
the  monarch  does  not  feel  that  any  one  puts  him 
under  an  obligation  by  anything  that  may  be  brought. 
I   had  been  warned  not  to  commit  the  mistake  of 
French  visitors  who  bring  toys,  which  he  regards  as  a 
suggestion  that  he  is  either  a  child  or  a  savage.  So 
I  congratulated  myself  on  my  ingenuity  in  thinking  of 
a  Mauser  pistol,  as  I  knew  that  His  Majesty  was 
interested    both    in    firearms    and    in  mechanical 
novelties.     Unfortunately,  however,  I  discovered  that 
everybody  had  been  bringing  him  a  Mauser  pistol 
ever  since  the  invention  of  that  ingenious  weapon. 
My  offering  was  further  discounted  by  the  fact  that 
the  British  Minister  had  chosen  this  occasion  to  send 
him  a  case  of  a  newer  and  more  surprising  kind  of 
pistol,  which  is  loaded  through  the  stock.  Menelik 
had  never  seen  this  before,  and  he  displayed  great 
interest  when   it   was   explained    to  him,  grasping 
the  intricacies  of  the  mechanism  with  a  readiness 
which  amazed  me.     For    several  minutes  he  kept 
adjusting  the  sights,  taking  aim  at  various  points  of 
the  verandah  and  going    through   the   motions  of 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


199 


loading.  I  could  not  help  being  amused  at  the  sort 
of  struggle  which  went  on  all  the  time  between  him 
and  the  interpreter  as  to  who  should  hold  the  pistol 
and  push  the  cartridges  in.  One  of  them  would 
snatch  at  it  and  seem  to  say,  "  No,  that's  not  right. 
Here,  give  it  to  me  ;  I'll  show  you."  Then  the  other 
would  grab  at  it  as  if  to  protest,  No,  you  don't 
understand  at  all.  Let  me  show  you.  There,  that's 
the  way  it  ought  to  be  done." 

My  modest  Mauser,  coming  after  these  novelties, 
was  naturally  rather  at  a  discount,  but  Menelik's 
kindly  politeness  passed  it  off  He  drew  it  an  inch 
out  of  the  case,  which  also  acts  as  the  stock,  peered  at 
it,  and  said  Es-shi  "  with  quite  a  show  of  emphasis 
before  passing  it  on  to  an  attendant  to  take  away  to 
his  armoury.  This  word  Es-shi"  is  always  being  used 
by  every  class  of  Abyssinians,  and  may  mean  almost 
anything  from  "All  right,"  to  "Thank  you  very  much 
indeed." 

Presently  he  asked  me  what  my  profession  was, 
how  long  I  intended  to  stay,  how  old  I  was,  and 
various  other  things  which  did  not  lead  to  anything  in 
the  way  of  conversation.  In  the  presence  of  other 
monarchs  I  have  always  understood  that  I  was  never 
to  initiate  a  topic,  but  wait  to  be  spoken  to,  and  wait 
until  I  was  sent  away.  This,  however,  does  not 
seem  to  be  exacted  at  the  Court  of  the  Negus. 
Presently  there  was  a  lull  in  the  conversation,  and  the 
interpreter  inquired  if  there  was  anything  I  wished 
to  ask  the  King.  I  said  I  should  be  glad  of  per- 
mission to  visit  the  monasteries  and  churches  of  his 


200 


ABYSSINIA 


empire.  Menelik  replied  that  there  was  no  objection  to 
my  seeing  them,  and  that,  if  I  anticipated  any  difficulty, 
he  would  give  orders  that  no  one  should  stop  me  any- 
where. He  then  volunteered  to  give  me  a  special 
pass  for  my  return  journey  to  Harrar.  This  I  rather 
coveted,  as  it  would  have  had  the  Great  Seal  of  the 
Lion  of  Judah  upon  it,  but  owing  either  to  the  laziness 
of  officials  or  to  the  carelessness  of  the  interpreter  it 
never  reached  me. 

There  was  another  pause,  and  as  I  was  evidently 
expected  to  make  conversation  I  remarked  that 
people  in  England  took  an  extreme  interest  in 
Ethiopia.  I  was  rather  pleased  w^ith  my  thoughtful- 
ness  in  using  the  word  Ethiopia,  as  he  would  have 
noticed  and  disliked  Abyssinia,  which  implies  mongrel. 
He  smiled  amiably  at  my  remark,  and  replied  that  it 
confirmed  his  own  impression  ;  that  he  was  glad  to 
see  this  interest  manifested  by  the  visits  of  so  many 
Englishmen  ;  that  it  was  only  by  learning  to  know 
each  other  that  we  could  arrive  at  a  real  under- 
standino-. 

I  then  asked  if  he  would  be  graciously  pleased  to 
transmit  through  me  a  message  to  the  English  people, 
who  always  regarded  him  with  feelings  of  sincere 
friendship. 

"  Tell  them,"  said  His  Majesty,  "  that  I  have 
always  desired  their  friendship  and  support,  because 
I  know  that  I  may  trust  them.  Other  people  often 
tell  me  things  which  I  find  out  afterwards  are  not 
true,  or  they  promise  things  and  do  not  perform  them. 
But  when  an   Englishman  says  anything  to  me  I 


MENELIK  AND  MIS  CAPITAL 


20  [ 


know  that  I  can  believe  him  ;  when  he  promises  any- 
thing, it  is  as  good  as  done.  Tell  your  people  that  I 
shall  always  be  pleased  to  see  them,  whenever  any 
of  them  care  to  undertake  the  long  journey  to  my 
capital." 

I  said  that  it  would  give  the  English  people  vast 
pleasure  if  at  any  time  he  were  disposed  to  come 
among  them.  He  smiled  and  his  eyes  glistened  for 
a  moment,  but  presently  a  shadow  of  melancholy 
passed  over  his  countenance. 

"  Ah,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  have  long  desired  to  see 
your  wonderful  country.  I  have  heard  much  of  your 
ships  and  your  manufactures  and  your  inventions. 
You  have  also  fine  horses  and  dogs,  some  of  which 
have  recently  made  their  way  hither.  But  a  sovereign 
owes  a  duty  to  his  people,  and  cannot,  alas  !  leave 
them  for  any  length  of  time,  however  many  interest- 
ing sights  may  tempt  him  outside.  I  believe  that 
if  I  went  to  England  I  should  find  many  useful 
things,  by  bringing  which  to  this  country  much 
good  might  be  done.  You  know  I  have  already  con- 
structed a  telephone  from  Harrar.  Perhaps  one  day  we 
shall  have  a  railway.  But  if  I  once  began  to  travel, 
there  are  so  many  places  which  I  should  desire  to 
visit.  There  is  India,  for  instance.  I  believe  I  could 
spend  many  pleasant  months  in  exploring  its  wonders. 
I  am  told  that  the  elephants  there  have  been  trained 
to  do  work  just  as  if  they  were  asses  or  mules.  We 
have  many  elephants  here,  but  no  one  has  ever  tamed 
them.  Think  of  the  intelligence  of  an  elephant. 
What  mio^ht  it  not  be  tauorht  to  do  !  " 


202 


ABYSSINIA 


I  will  attempt  to  convey  an  impression  of  Menelik. 
When  I  came  in  he  was  sitting  well  back  in  his  chair 
with  his  legs  crossed,  toying  with  a  coloured  silk 
handkerchief,  which  he  handed  to  an  attendant. 
What  I  first  noticed  was  that  he  wore  clean  bright 
blue  woollen  socks  and  new  tennis  shoes  of  a  common 
kind,  with  the  tongues  hanging  out  and  no  laces. 
Over  close-fitting  white  linen  knickerbockers  came  a 
loose  garment  of  handsome  green  and  gold  striped 
silk.  It  had  long,  tight  sleeves  buttoned  at  the  wrists, 
and  when  he  moved  his  legs  I  saw  that  the  garment 
was  lined  with  common  calico.  Under  it  he  wore  a 
white  shamma  with  a  red  embroidered  line  near  the 
edge,  and  over  everything  a  black  silk  cloak  with 
gold  embroidery  and  small  gilt  buttons.  On  his  head 
was  a  white  cloth  tied  very  tightly  and  surmounted  by 
a  big  grey  felt  hat  with  a  high  crown  and  broad  brim. 
In  his  left  ear  was  a  diamond  solitaire  earring,  about 
the  size  of  a  threepenny-bit  and  set  in  gold.  This  is 
worn  in  evidence  of  his  having  killed  elephants,  and 
only  the  royal  family  are  permitted  to  wear  gold  in 
any  form.  On  the  little  finger  of  his  left  hand  was  a 
thick  ring,  with  a  dark  blue  stone  and  two  diamonds 
set  gipsy  fashion. 

His  face  is  not  so  much  marked  with  smallpox  as 
I  had  been  led  to  expect.  He  is  darker  than  the 
average  Abyssinian,  but  his  features  are  not  those  of 
a  negro.  His  mouth,  however,  is  quite  negroid,  and 
his  thick  lips  wear  an  incessant  grin,  displaying  large, 
very  white  teeth  set  loosely  together.  His  small 
brown  eyes  wore  an  expression  of  fatigue,  and  what 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL  203 


should  be  the  whites  of  them  were  yellow.  His  fore- 
head is  narrow,  but  the  upper  part  of  his  face  appears 
to  have  much  character  and  kindliness.  His  beard 
and  whiskers  are  very  close  and  curly  and  inclined  to 
be  grey.  His  voice  is  soft  and  rather  oily,  without 
any  vestige  of  the  usual  Abyssinian  squeak.  He 
speaks  very  deliberately,  showing  his  teeth  and  tongue 
and  wagging  his  head  a  good  deal.  He  makes  no 
gesticulations  with  his  hands,  except  that  sometimes 
he  puts  the  finger-tips  together.  On  the  whole  I 
should  describe  his  as  rather  an  ecclesiastical  manner. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  my  audience  he  impressed 
me  as  being  gentle  and  easy-going,  but  once,  when 
the  interpreter  asked  leave  to  say  a  few  words 
in  private  on  behalf  of  Captain  Harrington,  his  ex- 
pression changed  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  The 
smile  died  away,  the  easy  carelessness  was  no  longer 
to  be  seen,  and  his  eyes  lit  up  with  a  shrewd,  sharp 
expression. 

He  motioned  the  courtiers  to  move  away,  and 
they  all  retired  to  the  end  of  the  verandah,  but  not 
so  far  off  that  they  may  not  have  heard  something. 
The  interpreter  bent  forward  and  lowered  his  voice, 
and  I  cauo^ht  the  word  Leontieff  more  than  once. 
The  Emperor  grew  grave  at  once,  and  began  to 
argue  with  some  eagerness.  I  understand  that  it 
was  the  question  of  the  flags,  which  the  adventurer 
had  removed  from  British  territory,  and  that  Menelik 
now  authorised  Mr.  Harrison's  expedition  to  set 
them  up  again.  Captain  Harrington  would  have 
been  with  me  to  discuss  this  question  himself,  but 


204 


ABYSSINIA 


he  was  unfortunately  laid  up  with  an  attack  of 
influenza. 

At  last,  when  my  audience  had  lasted  over  forty 
minutes,  I  rose  and  bade  the  interpreter  express  my 
sense  of  the  honour  which  His  Majesty  had  done  me. 
He  replied  very  graciously  that  he  was  glad  to  see 
me,  and  that  if  I  desired  anything  at  any  time  I  was 
to  let  him  know. 

There  is  a  suggestion  of  hilarity  about  the  title  of 
Negus.  I  should  not,  however,  attribute  to  its  present 
holder  a  particularly  hilarious  temperament.  He  is 
always  ready  to  smile,  and  I  daresay  he  has  a  certain 
sense  of  humour,  but  very  few  people  have  heard  him 
laugh,  though  many  things  must  have  occurred  during 
recent  years  to  amuse  him  enormously,  not  the  least 
among  them  the  way  in  which  the  F'rench  and  Russians 
habitually  grovel  to  him. 

He  has  had  little  or  no  education  accordino-  to  our 
sense  of  the  term.  Indeed,  no  one  in  Abyssinia  ever 
does  oet  anv  education  bevond  learninQ^  to  read  and 
write  and  quote  passages  from  the  Gospels.  There 
are  no  schools  in  Abyssinia,  and  what  little  teaching 
exists  is  undertaken  by  the  priests  in  the  courtyards 
of  the  round  churches.  Perhaps,  however,  the  best 
education  of  all  is  that  which  comes  from  observation, 
and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  Menelik  has  exercised 
his  intelligence  in  that  way  to  some  purpose.  For 
instance,  when  he  received  a  friend  of  mine  the  other 
day  and  gave  him  permission  to  start  off  in  pursuit  of 
ibex  in  the  north  of  Abyssinia,  he  seemed  to  know 
all  about  it,  and  sent  at  once  for  a  book  containing  a 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL 


205 


picture  of  the  animal.  He  had  also  heard  of  the 
Himalayas,  and  had  a  very  good  idea  of  the  part  of 
India  where  they  are  to  be  found,  although  he  has 
probably  never  set  eyes  upon  a  map. 

Every  one  who  knows  him  is  also  agreed  about  his 
kindness  and  consideration.  One  day,  when  he  saw 
a  party  of  Englishmen  in  danger  of  being  hustled 
by  the  crowd  at  the  gates  of  the  Palace,  he  ordered 
wav  to  be  made  for  them,  and  beesfed  them  to  ride  in 
immediately  before  him. 

Of  course  there  are  people  who  run  down  Menelik. 
Even  the  greatest  and  wisest  and  best  have  their 
detractors.  The  most  vindictive  person  I  met  was  a 
member  of  what  I  have  called  the  young  Abyssinia 
party,  but  his  opinions  had  to  be  discounted  consider- 
ably, for  he  was  a  man  with  a  grievance.  He  had 
been  cast  into  prison,  he  said,  by  Menelik's  direct 
order,  until  he  paid  an  exorbitant  fine.  But  there 
are  always  two  sides  to  every  story,  and  as  I  have 
only  heard  one  side  of  this  one,  I  am  in  no  hurry  to 
accept  it. 

Other  stories  came  to  me  from  an  European  resi- 
dent, about  whom  I  will  only  say  that  he  is  not  an 
Englishman.  The  Abyssinian  method,  said  he,  is  to 
take  all  that  can  be  got.  It  is  accordingly  unsafe  to 
bring  a  good  gun  into  Addis  Ababa,  lest  Menelik 
should  seize  it  and  ask  what  you  want  for  it. 
You  might  reply  that  it  was  not  for  sale,  but  he  would 
keep  it  and  ask  your  price  again.  If  at  length 
you  said  it  cost  you  $200,  he  might  send  you  thirty, 
and  you    might  be    thankful  to   get    that.  Before 


2o6 


ABYSSINIA 


believing  this  story  I  should  require  a  great  deal 
of  evidence  in  corroboration  of  it.  At  present  I 
have  none. 

Here  is  another  story  from  the  same  source. 
Some  years  ago  Menelik  ordered  a  mill  from  a 
Frenchman,  having  first  asked  the  price  and  been 
told  S 20.000.  By  the  time  the  mill  came  intriguers 
told  Menelik  that  it  was  only  worth  83,000.  Menelik 
had  it  put  up  at  a  place  where  it  could  not  possibly 
work.  \\"hen  the  Frenchman  asked  for  payment, 
Menelik  refused,  saying  in  any  case  the  mill  could 
only  be  worth  S3. 000,  and  as  it  would  not  work  it 
was  worth  nothino-  at  all.  Then  the  followinor 
altercation  ensued  :  "  $20,000  were  promised,  and  it 
would  work  if  it  were  put  up  in  its  proper  place." 

\^ery  well,  put  it  up  for  me  in  the  proper  place, 
and  then  we  will  see."  "  Hut  I  only  agreed  to  deliver 
the  mill  and  not  to  put  it  up,  and  it  would  cost  me 
Si 0,000  to  remove  it  to  the  proper  site." 

Some  years  later,  when  Menelik  was  away  at  the 
Italian  war.  the  Frenchman  came  to  Ras  Makonnen, 
who  was  acting  as  Regent,  and  begged  for  part 
payment  to  save  him  from  bankruptcy,  whereupon 
the  Regent  gave  him  §5,000.  A  few  months  ago 
Menelik  came  across  this  entry  in  the  accounts  and 
was  furious.  He  demanded  instant  reimbursement, 
and  when  the  man  refused  this  he  sent  2,000  soldiers 
to  blockade  his  house  in  Addis  Ababa.  The  man 
appealed  to  M.  Lagarde,  the  French  Minister,  urging 
that  this  would  be  bad  for  French  prestige.  The 
Minister  replied  that  he  could    not    trouble  about 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL  207 


commercial  people  :  he  only  cared  about  political 
questions.  Two  friends  guaranteed  the  $5,000,  and 
at  last  Menelik  gave  $2,000  more  to  terminate  the 
affair. 

The  most  plausible  part  of  this  story  is  the  conduct 
of  the  French  representative,  but  as  for  the  mill,  I 
should  be  more  inclined  to  accept  the  Emperor's 
estimate  of  it  than  that  of  a  French  adventurer. 
In  any  case,  it  was  natural  that  when  a  dusky 
potentate  found  that  some  one  had  sold  him  a  mill 
which  he  could  not  use,  he  should  be  in  no  hurry  to 
pay  for  it. 

Here  is  another  story,  which  I  have  from  an  un- 
impeachable source,  and  which  I  commend  to  the 
attention  of  Russian  adventurers.  Some  years  ago  a 
Russian  bandmaster  arrived  at  Addis  Ababa,  having 
been  partly  subsidised  by  his  Government,  which  pro- 
vided instruments,  &c.  With  infinite  patience  and 
difficulty  he  taught  a  score  of  Abyssinians  to  play  the 
chief  national  anthems  of  the  world  and  such  popular 
airs  as  "  After  the  Ball."  He  expected  to  make  a 
very  good  thing  out  of  it,  but  he  contrived  to  dis- 
please the  Emperor  and  left  Addis  Ababa  penniless. 
The  band  now  plays  fairly  well  on  all  grand  occasions, 
and  one  of  the  favourite  tunes  of  His  Majesty  is  an 
Ethiopian  anthem,  which  was  composed  by  the  un- 
fortunate bandmaster. 

All  sorts  of  absurd  stories  m  the  rounds  about 
Menelik  whenever  the  French  or  Italian  papers  are 
hard  up  for  something  to  invent.  Among  the  latest 
yarns,  we  are  told  that  he  and  his  Empress  had  taken 


208 


ABYSSINIA 


to  riding  bicycles  in  the  grounds  of  the  Palace. 
To  any  one  who  has  seen  these  "  grounds,"  this 
is  sufficiently  ludicrous,  apart  from  the  fact  that 
the    Empress    Taitu    weighs     twenty    stone  and 


TAITU. 

measures  sixty  inches  round  the  waist.  It  was  also 
alleged  that  he  had  forbidden  the  use  of  tobacco 
under  pain  of  cutting  off  the  offender's  tongue  and 
lips,  because  he  had  tried  the  weed  himself  and  it 
had  made  him  verv  sick.     As  a  matter  of  fact  he 


MENELIK  AND  HIS  CAPITAL  209 


does  not  smoke,  but  he  has  no  objection  to  other 
people  doing  so,  and  I  know  of  one  case  in 
which  he  invited  an  Englishman  to  light  a  cigar 
in  his  presence. 

The  Emperor's  life  is  a  very  simple  one.  He  rises 
in  the  small  hours  and  transacts  business  during 
the  greater  part  of  the  day,  attending  to  all  the 
minutest  details  himself.  His  repasts  are  very  frugal, 
and  consist  of  little  else  than  bread  and  more  or  less 
raw  meat,  washed  down  by  tej,  the  mead  or  honey- 
wine  of  the  country.  From  time  to  time  he  starts  out 
on  long  progresses  through  his  dominions,  accom- 
panied by  a  vast  army.  He  has  two  large  and  by 
no  means  uncomfortable  tents,  one  of  which  is  always 
sent  a  day's  march  in  advance.  He  generally  sleeps 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  transacts  business  again 
far  into  the  night.  His  chief  interest  is  in  mechanical 
contrivances,  about  which  he  has  almost  the  know- 
ledge of  a  specialist.  He  employs  a  large  number  of 
spies,  and  is  said  to  have  an  extraordinary  memory. 

The  Empress  Taitu  is  a  very  proud  woman,  enor- 
mously sensible  of  her  high  position.  She  belongs  to 
the  old  school,  opposes  all  innovations  and  mistrusts 
all  foreigners.  She  received  Captain  Harrington, 
however,  very  graciously  not  long  ago,  and  when 
he  gave  her  Queen  Victoria's  photograph  she  rose 
from  her  seat  and  made  a  deep  bow,  much  to  his 
surprise.  Presently  she  asked  him  how  many  children 
Queen  Victoria  had  had,  and  whether  they  were  all  by 
the  same  husband. 

? 


Chapter  VIII 


THE  ABYSSIXIAXS  AT  HOME 

The  Jewry  of  Africa — -Greetings — A  Vocabulary  for  Travellers — 
Grovelling — Snobs — Insults— Free-and-Easy  Manners  — Glut- 
tony-—  Feudal  Retainers — Leechcraft — Gifts — Voices — Costume 
— Games  —  Music  —  Dancing  —  Chattering  —  Gallas  —  Dusky 
Damsels — At  the  Wells — In  the  Fields — Perambulators — Good 
Looks — Hairdressing — Dirt — Marriage. 

Abyssinia  has  been  called  the  Switzerland  of  Africa, 
but  1  should  be  more  inclined  to  dub  it  her  Scotland, 
for  nowhere  else  may  such  canniness  be  discerned. 
At  the  same  time  the  untiring  industry  of  the  Swiss 
and  the  Scots  is  utterly  absent,  and  perhaps  the  best 
name  of  all  would  be  the  Jewry  of  Africa.  The 
intrusion  of  civilisation  amid  an  ancient  people  is 
usually  objectionable,  for  it  rubs  off  that  bloom  which 
is  their  most  transcendent  charm.  But  here  the  bloom 
is  already  gone.  The  Abyssinians  are  not  a  simple 
people,  and  they  are  only  too  anxious  to  work  out 
their  own  civilisation.  Even  their  limited  advance 
has  already  resulted  in  corruption,  vandalism,  and 
chicanery.  It  affords  one  more  instance  of  the 
dancrer  of  a  little  knowledo^e.  Educatinor  Africans 
is  even  worse  than  educating  the  masses,  as  the 
FVench  will  one  day  learn  to  their  cost  in  Tunisia. 
Abyssinians  are  not  popular  with  those  who  have 


THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME  211 


made  their  acquaintance,  and  they  are  certainly  irri- 
tating, if  only  by  their  squeaky  voices,  their  insolence, 
and  their  greed.  It  is,  however,  only  fair  to  say  that, 
there  does  exist  an  old-fashioned  party,  which  clings 
to  old  patriarchal  customs  and  discourages  all  intimacy 
with  white  folk.  With  these  the  traveller  does  not 
often  come  in  contact,  for  they  do  not  seek  his  society. 
The  Empress  Taitu  and  the  Garasmach  of  Harrar  are 
prominent  members  of  this  party. 

My  first  sight  of  Abyssinians  on  the  way  up  gave 
me  a  favourable  but  I  believe  wholly  incorrect  idea  of 
their  character.  The  Somalis  I  had  passed  made  no 
pretence  at  a  greeting,  but  merely  shouted  information 
hoarsely  to  one  another.  Here,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  people  wearing  Christian  hats  and  women  clad 
in  a  sort  of  blue  muslin,  which  gave  a  faint,  faraway 
suggestion  of  nuns.  "  De  naderk  "  (Good-day),  "  De 
naderashu "  (Good-day  to  you),  and  other  exclama- 
tions were  volunteered  with  a  certain  heartiness  and 
many  profound  inclinations.  Indeed  the  Abyssinian 
salutation  always  moved  me  to  much  merriment. 
It  was  as  though  a  man  tried  very  hard  to  roll 
himself  up  into  a  ball.  He  would  plunge  his  head 
rapidly  forward  and  describe  a  circle  in  the  air  almost 
like  a  man  about  to  dive.  His  head  having  approached 
as  near  as  possible  to  his  feet,  he  would  leap  back 
into  an  erect  position.  Meanwhile  his  very  long 
curved  sword  in  its  bright  red  leathern  scabbard 
would  be  darting  violently  into  the  air  and  remind- 
ing me  ludicrously  of  a  monkey's  tail.  Indeed  the 
more  I  came  to  know  the  Abyssinians  the  more  irre- 


212 


ABYSSINIA 


sistibly  did  they  recall  monkeys.  They  seem  to  know 
this  themselves,  for  they  are  extremely  sensitive  on 
the  subject.  Gingero-ullach,  offspring  of  monkeys,  is 
a  recognised  term  of  insult  among  them,  and  one 
which  I  found  very  useful  when  I  wished  to  annoy 
them.  For  the  convenience  of  travellers  I  may  also 
mention  karkero-itllach,  son  of  a  pig  ;  guinmatani- 
tdlach,  a  very  useful  word,  w^hich  I  should  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  translate  ;  eiiisi  bakish,  a  rude  invitation  to 
depart  ;  ante  /aba,  you  are  a  thief ;  and  ant  a  hid, 
go  and  be  blowed. 

Such  politeness  as  they  possess  is  utterly  superficial 
and  only  assumed  for  an  object.  Sometimes  they 
will  grovel  to  a  contemptible  degree.  When  I  was 
staying  with  Captain  Harrington,  I  would  see  an 
Abyssinian  approach  the  drawing-room  to  lodge  a 
griev^ance,  and  he  rarely  omitted  to  kiss  the  carpet  at 
the  edo^e  of  the  tent  both  at  the  beoinninor  and  the  end 
of  his  interview.  Sometimes,  in  still  deeper  humility, 
he  would  kiss  the  dust  outside  the  carpet  at  the 
entrance.  I  have  also  seen  Abyssinians  kiss  the  boots 
of  an  European  in  an  outburst  of  that  sense  of  favours 
to  come,  which  is  so  highly  developed  among  them. 
This,  however,  is  quite  the  exception  in  the  average 
manner  of  an  Abyssinian.  Particularly  in  the  presence 
of  his  compatriots,  he  loves  to  parade  his  equality 
with  and  even  superiority  to  Europeans.  His  great 
delight  is  to  lead  them  on,  by  a  series  of  neglect,  petty 
annoyances,  and  waste  of  precious  time,  to  lose  their 
tempers.  Then  he  is  vastly  delighted  and  indeed 
amused. 


THE  ABYSSIXIANS  AT  HOME  213 


The  Abyssinians  are  essentially  snobs.  They  will 
be  much  more  polite  and  affable  to  any  one  they  con- 
sider rich  and  powerful  than  to  those  who  make  no 
display.  They  measure  the  respect  due  to  anybody 
by  the  number  of  his  retinue,  and  it  is  the  custom 
among  them  to  go  everywhere  with  as  many  servants 
as  they  can  scrape  together.  In  Addis  Ababa  people 
go  out  shopping  or  visiting  with  nearly  their  wdiole 
household  running  along  beside  their  mules.  I 
observed  this  characteristic  when  I  was  on  the  march. 
If  I  had  all  my  servants  round  me,  every  peasant  I 
met  hastened  to  efface  himself,  even  though  he  had  to 
drive  his  bap*2fao-e  animals  into  a  thicket  or  a  ditch. 
When  I  rode  on  fast  by  myself  and  suffered  my 
attendants  to  lag  behind,  I  found  I  w^as  treated  very 
differently.  Men  with  donkeys  or  camels,  women 
with  loads  of  hay  or  wood,  travellers  with  a  gun  and 
a  spear  would  strut  straight  at  me  and  expect  me  to 
make  way.  They  would  even  indulge  sometimes  in 
impertinent  chaff,  either  asking  me  whether  I  wanted 
a  servant — this  I  knew  bv  catchino-  the  word  askari — ■ 
or  else  repeating  in  unmistakably  insulting  tones,  "  Ali, 
Ali,  Ali." 

This  it  seems  has  been  in  vogue  as  an  insult  tc 
Europeans  ever  since  the  battle  of  Adowa.  The  word 
is  a  common  Muhammadan  name,  and  the  Italians 
having  had  many  servants  called  Ali  at  Massowah, 
took  to  applying  it  to  every  native  indiscriminately, 
just  as  some  foolish  folk  call  every  soldier  Tommy 
and  every  agricultural  labourer  Hodge.  After  they 
had  conquered  the  Italians,  the  Abyssinians  thought 


214 


ABYSSLNIA 


it  would  be  amusing  to  turn  the  tables,  so  they  took 
to  addressing  every  Italian  thus,  and,  as  they  realise 
very  little  difference  between  an  Italian  and  any  other 
European,  extended  the  nickname  to  all  ferenjis. 
Seeing  that  this  was  disliked,  they  persisted  in  it,  not 
in  a  spirit  of  good-humour  and  chaff,  but  intending 
a  deliberate  insult.  I  was  unaware  of  this  until  I 
read  Count  Gleichen's  book  at  Addis  Ababa  and 
how  he  had  punished  some  Abyssinian  soldiers  for 
using  this  w^orcl  to  him.  I  daresay  many  people  may 
have  called  me  Ali  on  my  way  up,  but  if  they  did  I 
should  not  have  minded  what  I  did  not  understand. 
On  the  way  down  I  heard  the  expression  twice,  once 
from  a  group  of  women,  for  whom  there  was  no 
answer  except  to  comment  upon  their  surprising 
ugliness  in  languages  which  they  did  not  under- 
stand. The  other  time  was  near  the  end  of  my 
last  march  back  to  Harrar.  In  a  narrow  path  be- 
tween high  hedges  of  candelabra  cactus  I  encountered 
several  men  in  charge  of  some  fifty  small  donkeys.  I 
was  several  hundred  yards  in  front  of  my  servants,  and 
the  donkeymen  accordingly  took  no  trouble  to  assist 
me,  so  I  had  to  do  all  the  shouting  and  beating  myself 
to  force  a  passage  through  the  crowd  of  animals. 
When  I  had  done  this  I  found  the  men  bringing 
up  the  rear,  and  they  made  no  sign  of  moving  aside 
to  let  me  pass.  Indeed  one  of  them  danced  about 
in  front  of  my  mule,  and  shouted  "  Ali,  Ali,  Ali."  I 
raised  my  whip  as  though  to  strike  him,  imagining  he 
would  at  once  move  aside,  but  instead  of  doing  that 
he  raised  his  hand  to  mock  my  gesture,  and  went  on 


THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME  215 


repeating  with  increasing  insolence,  "  Ali,  Ali,  Ali." 
1  lashed  him  three  times  across  each  side  of  his  face 
with  the  thong  of  my  whip,  and  for  a  moment  I 
thought  there  was  going  to  be  a  general  attack  from 
the  men.  But  one  of  them  espied  my  servants  coming 
up,  so  it  was  decided  that  discretion  was  the  better 
part  of  valour,  and  I  was  allov^ed  to  proceed,  saying 
"  Gummatamullach  "  but  not  goodbye. 

It  was  specially  at  Harrar  that  I  was  impressed  by 
the  free-and-easy  manners  of  the  Abyssinians.  When 
I  was  calling  upon  a  merchant  one  day,  I  found  that 
all  sorts  of  natives  would  stroll  into  the  room  without 
any  formality,  proceed  to  pick  up  and  examine  any- 
thing that  excited  their  curiosity,  help  themselves  to  a 
biscuit  or  a  cigarette  without  so  much  as  ''by  your 
leave,"  and  all  this  in  the  most  natural  way  in  the 
world,  like  a  child  or  a  monkey.  As  an  observant 
Frenchman  remarked  to  me,  the  Abyssinians  get  on 
very  well  among  themselves,  but  are  intolerable  to 
strangers.  They  are  crafty,  the  enemies  of  all  re- 
straint, most  especially  of  that  imposed  by  work,  as 
mischievous  and  impudent  as  the  street-boys  of  Paris, 
gluttonous  to  the  last  degree,  and  hopelessly  unprac- 
tical at  any  serious  pinch.  I  may  mention  what 
happened  at  the  British  Agency  at  Adclis  Ababa, 
when  one  of  the  tukuls  caught  fire.  Everybody 
assembled  at  once,  and  soon  an  enormous  crowd 
was  yelling  for  ropes  and  water,  but  no  one  thought 
of  going  to  fetch  them  himself,  though  they  were 
close  at  hand. 

My  two  most  lingering  impressions  of  the  Abys- 


2l6 


ABYSSINIA 


sinians  are  the  smell  of  the  rancid  butter  with  which 
they  all  pomade  their  hair,  and  the  sight  of  the 
ridiculous  straw  umbrellas,  shaped  like  that  of 
Robinson  Crusoe  in  a  pantomime,  which  are  paraded 
everywhere  without  any  regard  to  the  weather. 

What  is  specially  to  be  observed  among  the 
Abyssinians  is  the  way  in  which  they  cling  to 
feudal  traditions.  Every  one  has  as  many  retainers 
as  possible,  who  live  with  him  and  eat  with  him  as 
members  of  his  family.  The  older  men  eat  first, 
then  the  younger  men,  then  the  women,  then  the 
men-servants,  and  finally  the  female  servants.  When 
a  man  visits  you  w^ith  his  retainers  and  you  give  him 
a  bumper,  he  leaves  part  in  his  glass  and  passes  it  on 
to  his  servants.  Everybody  has  a  professional  taster. 
Before  the  master  eats  or  drinks,  this  man  goes 
throuo-h  the  formalitv  of  tastino-.  For  instance,  he 
will  pour  a  few  drops  of  tej  into  his  hand  and  lap  it. 
Every  retainer  has  his  own  duties,  and  will  under  no 
circumstances  consent  to  do  any  others  at  all.  In 
a  big  household  one  man  looks  after  the  tej  and 
nothinof  else,  another  concerns  himself  onlv  with  the 
guns,  another  is  merely  treasurer,  another  has  charge 
of  certain  animals.  In  fact  there  is  an  infinite  sub- 
division of  labour.  Even  a  small  man  never  goes 
out  of  doors  wathout  four  retainers  to  accompany  him. 
One  carries  his  oryn,  another  his  sword,  another  his 
purse,  and  the  fourth,  like  the  man  in  the  Chanson  de 
Malbrook,  carries  nothing  at  all.  They  are  all  con- 
sulted about  all  sorts  of  matters,  such  as,  for  in- 
stance,   the    purchase    of   a    hat    for    the  master. 


THE  ABVSSIXIAXS  AT  HOME  217 


Under  no  circumstances  will  they  consent  to  carry 
parcels.  If  you  take  a  man  out  with  you,  buy  a 
small  thing  and  hand  it  him  to  carry,  he  calls  a 
coolie  at  once.  He  will  carrv  vour  o-un  and  as 
many  cartridges  as  is  physically  possible,  but  not -a 
bottle  or  a  roll  of  cloth.  The  rule  is  not  to  pay 
retainers,  except  when  they  travel  ;  at  home  they 
have  their  food  and  a  couple  of  cloths  every  year. 
Not  long  ago  even  Europeans  obtained  servants 
under  these  conditions,  but  now  they  have  to  pay 
about  S6  a  month  if  they  reside  at  Harrar,  and  a 
ofreat  deal  more  if  thev  travel  across  countrv. 

There  are  practically  no  arts,  professions,  or  manu- 
factures in  Abyssinia.  The  only  approach  to  any  is 
a  certain  fantastic  old-world  skill  in  leechcraft  and 
surgery.  The  native  bone-setters  enjoy  a  certain 
reputation.  A  friend  of  mine  was  w^alking  along  the 
awful  streets  of  Harrar  one  evenino-  when  his  ankle 
suddenly  gave  way  without  any  apparent  cause.  He 
was  helped  home,  and  during  three  months  an  Italian 
doctor  and  a  Greek  chemist  tried  every  sort  of  pre- 
scription in  vain.  At  last  some  one  said,  "  You  had 
better  consult  one  of  the  native  bone-setters."  He  said 
he  would  try  anything  rather  than  remain  in  pain;  so 
the  bone-setter  came  and  touched  the  ankle  o-entlv  but 
firmly  with  the  tips  of  his  fingers.  There  was  great 
agony  for  a  moment,  but  thenceforward  my  friend  gradu- 
ally recovered.  Every  day  the  bone-setter  used  to  come 
and  kneel  down  in  the  billiard-room  after  lunch  with 
a  saucer  of  oil  beside  him  ;  my  friend  would  place 
his  foot  upon  a  stool  and  a  process  of  native  massage 


2l8 


ABYSSINIA 


would  go  on  for  about  half  an  hour.  The  man  was 
amiable  and  amusing,  and  used  to  keep  us  all  merry 
with  his  quips.  Indeed  it  was  he  who  taught  me  my 
very  fine  vocabulary  of  Abyssinian  abuse.  I  am  told 
that  on  another  occasion  he  was  equally  successful  in 
curing  a  Frenchman  who  had  put  his  shoulder  out. 
The  Abyssinians  have  also  a  number  of  strange  drugs, 
which  are  unknown  to  the  European  pharmacopeia 
and  merit  investigation.  Kat  enables  men  to  go 
without  food  or  drink  for  four  days,  another  herb  is 
infallible  for  sore  eyes,  ophthalmia,  &c.,  and  another 
for  dysentery.  Mine  host  of  the  "  Lion  "  suft'ered 
from  dysentery  for  thirty-six  days  and  tried  the 
usual  European  remedies  in  vain  ;  he  was  given  some 
of  this  herb,  and  recovered  completely  in  thirty-six 
hours. 

It  is  perhaps  in  their  ideas  about  gifts  that  the 
Abyssinians  reveal  their  character  most  clearly.  It 
is  said  of  them  that  they  are  in  the  habit  of  giving 
you  an  egg  in  the  expectation  of  receiving  an  ox  in 
return.  Wherever  I  went  I  came  across  instances  of 
this,  but  it  was  all  done  so  openly  that  I  could  not 
feel  annoyed.  At  Minnabella,  for  instance,  some 
peasants  brought  me  a  chicken  and  a  basket  of  eggs. 
I  consulted  with  my  cook  as  to  what  present  I  should 
make  in  return,  and  we  agreed  upon  a  bar  of  salt, 
which  is  legal  tender  as  a  quarter  of  a  dollar.  This 
the  peasants  refused,  saying  that  they  had  brought 
a  present  for  their  greatest  friend  and  desired  nothing 
in  return.  Ree^el,  the  cook,  burst  into  a  roar  of 
ribald  laughter  and  explained  this  to  mean  that  one 


THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME 


2\g 


salt  was  not  enough.  So  he  asked  my  leave  to  give 
them  two.  These  w^ere  accepted,  but  were  presently 
brought  back  with  the  reiteration  that  money  was  not 
wanted  :  the  chicken  and  eggs  were  a  gift.  At  last, 
however,  we  compounded  for  a  few  lumps  of  sugar  in 
addition  to  the  salt. 

The  Italian  Minister  at  Addis  Ababa  told  me  he 
was  bothered  all  day  and  every  day  by  presents 
of  this  kind.  A  man  would  bring  four  eggs,  worth 
one-tenth  of  the  salt,  and  seem  to  expect  a  gun  in 
return,  and  as  the  Minister  was  anxious  to  make 
himself  as  popular  as  possible  in  the  country,  he  had 
no  easy  task  to  get  rid  of  them.  This  I  can  well 
understand,  for  your  Abyssinian  is  terribly  persistent 
in  refusing  to  take  no  for  an  answer.  Often  a  man 
would  bring  a  basket  of  loaves  to  my  camp  ;  I  would 
thank  him  and  tell  him  I  had  plenty  of  bread  ;  he 
would  reply  Never  mind,  it  is  a  gift."  I  would  thank 
him  again  and  repeat  that  I  had  plenty  of  bread  ;  then 
finally  he  would  say  that  he  would  really  be  content 
with  a  very  small  present  in  return.  The  Abyssinians 
are  not,  however,  alone  in  this  habit.  When  I 
reached  Gildessa,  the  new  head  of  the  camelmen 
presented  me  with  two  sheep,  three  fowls,  a  basket 
of  eggs,  and  a  tin  pan  of  milk  fresh  from  the  cow. 
I  was  new  to  the  business  then,  and  thought  I  was 
making  a  sufficient  return  by  agreeing  to  a  slightly 
enhanced  price  for  the  camels.  However,  just  as  I 
was  about  to  depart,  he  sent  word  that  I  had  not  paid 
him  for  his  present  and  I  was  obliged  to  produce 
some  more  dollars. 


220 


ABYSSINIA 


Two  more  characteristics  linger  persistently  in  my 
memory.  One  is  the  shrill,  penetrating  voice,  which 
is  extremely  irritating,  but  has  the  advantage  of 
carrying  a  very  long  way  ;  Abyssinians  can  shout 
whole  conversations  at  incredible  distances,  seeming 
to  have  solved  instinctively  the  problem  of  the  wire- 
less telephone.  The  other  is  the  very  slight  difference 
in  dress  and  appearance  between  the  sexes.  Their 
costume  consisted-  in  either  case  of  a  laro^e  din^v  sheet, 
and  their  hair  was  similarly  plastered  with  a  wealth  of 
rancid  butter.  Again  and  again  when  a  young  man 
or  a  young  woman  approached  my  camp  I  would  ask 
my  Somalis  what  was  the  intruder's  sex,  and  I  was 
pleased  to  find  that  I  was  very  rarely  alone  in  my 
ignorance,  for  they  would  nearly  always  grin  and 
shrug  their  shoulders  as  they  replied,  "  Allah  knows, 
sah'b." 

Both  Somalis  and  Abyssinians  are  nearly  as  fond 
of  a  game  as  any  Englishman  can  be,  and,  in  spite 
of  their  inherent  conservatism,  they  are  always  ready 
to  adopt  any  which  they  may  come  across.  At  Aden 
it  was  the  commonest  thing  in  the  world  to  see  small 
Somalis  playing  football  with  an  empty  cocoanut, 
attempting  cricket  on  the  shore  with  the  most  rudi- 
mentary materials,  and  giving  themselves  up  to  the 
deliofhts  of  a  varietv  of  hockev.  At  Zaila  thev  have 
a  game  of  their  own,  which  would  seem  to  possess 
some  faraway  common  ancestry  with  several  of  our 
own  sports.  Any  evening  on  the  village  common 
you  may  see  a  great  concourse  of  natives  playing 
at  ball.     They  divide  themselves  according  to  their 


THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME  221 


tribes  or  villages,  and  a  ball  is  thrown  from  one 
tribe  to  another.  If  it  be  dropped,  the  man  who 
has  dropped  it  must  run  away  as  fast  as  he  can,  while 
the  members  of  the  tribe  who  threw  it  hasten  to  pick 
it  up  and  pursue  him.  If  they  can  strike  him  with 
the  ball  before  he  reaches  the  boundary  a  point  is 
counted  to  them,  but  if  they  fail,  one  of  them  must 
throw  the  ball  back  into  the  crowd  and  run  away  in 


(Photograph  by  Captain  Poweix-Cottox.) 

his  turn.  As  they  are  exceedingly  good  shots  and 
swift  runners  the  sport  is  often  exciting. 

They  and  the  Abyssinians  pride  themselves  equally 
on  their  adroitness  in  throwing  a  javelin,  which  is 
weighted  with  a  ball  of  lead  at  the  tail.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  throw  after  a  fashion,  but  to  attain  to  the 
extreme  precision  of  the  natives  requires  practice 
almost  throughout  a  lifetime.     An  expert  can  rely 


222 


ABYSSINIA 


upon  it  as  though  it  were  a  rifle,  and  a  young  brave 
has  no  hesitation  in  setting  out  to  meet  a  lion  or  even 
an  elephant  with  no  other  arm.  For  better  security 
he  carries  two  or  three  extra  weapons,  but  it  is  not 
often  that  these  are  needed.  If  he  could  have  an 
unlimited  supply  he  would  be  almost  a  match  for  an 
enemy  armed  with  inferior  guns  at  close  quarters. 
There  is  also  a  game  called  gouks,  which  is  very 
popular  among  the  Abyssinians.  The  players  divide 
into  two  parties  on  horseback  and  chase  each  other, 
throwing  long  staves  like  spears.  They  are  very 
adroit  and  often  inflict  nasty  knocks.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  a  great  festival  the  Emperor  or  a  Ras 
o-enerallv  sets  the  oame  o-oino^  bv  throwino^  the  first 
staff. 

There  are  also  a  variety  of  sedentary  games  among 
both  nations.  I  would  often  see  my  Somalis 
crouching  over  little  holes  they  had  scooped  out  in 
the  sand,  and  moving  about  a  number  of  pebbles 
from  one  to  the  other.  The  game  seemed  a  cross 
between  draughts  and  knucklebones,  and  excited  a 
great  deal  of  interest,  for  the  players  would  go  on 
by  the  hour,  and  many  others  would  gather  round 
to  watch  them.  I  believe  this  was  a  simple  variety 
of  the  orame  of  o-abatta,  which  seems  to  be  of  Arab 
origin  and  has  made  its  wav  in  Abvssinia.  It  has 
a  regular  board,  made  either  of  wood  or  pottery, 
and  consists  of  two  sets  of  nine  holes  or  hollows 
for  each  of  two  players.  These  holes  are  called 
tukuls  (the  native  summer-house),  and  each  contains 
three  marbles  at  the  beginning  of  the  game.  How 


THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME  223 


they  pass  about  from  one  tukul  to  another,  and  why 
they  are  thrown  up  into  the  air  from  time  to  time,  I 
did  not  succeed  in  learnino-. 

For  the  rest,  Abyssinian  forms  of  diversion  are 
not  pecuHar,  consisting  chiefly  of  fantasias,  which  an 
Arab  would  despise  heartily,  bonfires,  the  slaughter 
of  cattle,  and  an  inordinate  consumption  of  raw  meat, 
which  induces  a  peculiarly  loathsome  disease. 

The  music  is  even  more  monotonous  than  any 
I  have  ever  heard  in  any  part  of  the  East.  There 
are  a  strange  old  barbarous  lyre  and  violin  which 
seem  to  have  no  bass  notes  at  all,  a  flute  even 
more  shrill  and  unmusical  than  flutes  usually  are, 
and  a  long,  weird  trumpet,  called  imbilta,  which 
suggests  in  appearance  the  instruments  used  for 
blowing  down  the  walls  of  Jericho,  with  none  of 
the  sonorousness  due  from  a  trumpet.  The  only 
contrast  is  afforded  by  the  big  drums,  which 
are  reserved  exclusively  for  Church  dances,  and 
perhaps  the  tambourine,  which  is  rarely  absent 
from  a  popular  festival.  There  are  no  regular  songs, 
but  the  professional  bards  make  up  their  poetry  as 
they  go  along.  Usually  they  sing  of  war  and  the 
chase,  how  many  elephants  and  lions  have  been  killed, 
what  doughty  deeds  their  local  heroes  had  performed, 
and  sometimes  they  will  allude  to  such  current  events 
as  the  arrival  of  a  stranger  or  the  consumption  of 
mutton.  But  they  have  very  little  imagination,  and 
they  go  on  crooning  over  the  same  old  subjects  in 
the  same  old  way  handed  down  to  them  for  thousands 
of  years.     Love  is  very  rarely  sung  about,  for  the 


224 


ABYSSINIA 


very  good  reason  that  it  has  very  Httle  meannig  or 
interest  for  an  Abyssinian.  In  his  view,  a  wife  is 
little  more  than  a  beast  of  burden,  or  at  the  best 
a  servant,  and  the  only  use  of  love  as  a  theme  is 
to  introduce  the  quarrels  and  fights  induced  by  rivalry 
for  the  possession  of  an  useful  spouse. 

It  is  only  in  the  dance  that  there  lingers  any 
tradition  of  higher  things.  You  may  detect  a  half- 
forgotten  symbolism  of  courtship,  but  at  the  best  it  is 
only  the  courtship  of  the  male  for  the  female  animal. 
Beside  the  Somali  entertainment  it  is  very  stale 
and  flat.  The  only  new  figure  I  could  find  was  a 
collection  of  men  leaping,  panting,  and  grunting  in 
a  close  circle  round  two  or  three  women,  like  canni- 
bals about  to  devour  their  victim.  There  was  a 
continuous  clapping  of  hands,  and  much  monotonous 
singing,  which  the  women's  voices  dominated.  The 
incessant  refrain  was,  Adon,  adon,  adoshava,''  which 
I  understand  is  a  pa^an  in  praise  of  people  who  slay 
elephants  and  lions.  It  had  a  very  catchy  tune,  and 
my  men  never  grew  tired  of  chaunting  it  all  the  way 
back  to  the  coast,  whenever  they  wished  to  provoke 
a  laugh  among  themselves. 

Indeed  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  the  Abys- 
sinians'  only  real  diversion  is  that  of  everlasting  gossip. 
Day  and  night  they  chatter  at  the  top  of  their  shrill, 
irritating  voices.  However  long  your  day's  march 
may  have  been,  however  fatiguing  the  road,  however 
depressing  the  elements,  they  never  seem  to  want 
to  sleep,  and  far  away  into  the  night  you  may  alw^ays 
find  them  squatting  round  their  fires  engaged  in  the 


THE  ARYSSINIANS  AT  HOME  225 


most  animated  discussions  about  nothing  at  all.  If 
you  have  given  them  a  sheep,  they  become  as  much 
excited  as  though  you  had  given  them  a  barrel  of 
beer,  and  there  is  no  limit  to  their  shouting  and 
screaming.  They  are  very  fond  of  any  strong  drink, 
the  stronger  the  better,  and  seem  to  have  such  good 
heads  that  nothing  affects  them.  I  heard  of  a 
traveller  who,  finding  that  whiskey  did  not  satisfy 
them,  devised  for  their  benefit  a  liqueur  whose  chief 
ingredients  were  methylated  spirits  and  Worcester 
sauce.  Far  from  discouraging  their  tendency  to 
alcoholism,  this  pleased  them  vastly,  and  they  were 
always  clamouring  for  more.  When  I  remarked  to 
Abdi  that  I  must  not  give  the  mulemen  too  much 
whiskey  lest  they  should  be  unable  to  start,  he  replied 
in  a  bless-your-soul  kind  of  tone,  "  Abyssinian  man 
he  drink  so  much  whiskey  you  like  to  give  him. 
Never  make  him  sick.  Never  make  him  drunk. 
Not  like  white  man."  This  last  must  have  been  a 
dig  at  a  young  Greek  who  came  to  my  camp  one 
evening,  and,  after  very  scanty  libations,  proved 
conclusively  that  he  had  no  head  at  all  for  strong 
drink.  That  was  an  unfortunate  occurrence,  for  I 
could  see  that  he  brought  clown  upon  him  great 
contempt  both  from  the  Somalis,  who  are  fanatical 
teetotalers,  and  from  the  Abyssinians,  who  are  such 
valiant  topers. 

Of  all  the  subject  races  in  Abyssinia,  the  Gallas  are 
the  most  interesting.  They  come  of  a  very  ancient 
stock,  and  are  reputed  to  be  among  the  bravest  of 
mankind.     If  once  they  could  obtain  guns,  even  to  a 


226 


ABYSSINIA 


small  extent,  I  believe  they  would  soon  make  them- 
selves masters  of  the  empire.  At  present  they  are 
practically  in  the  position  of  slaves,  and  are  made  to 
do  all  the  hard  manual  work.  I  am  told  that  in 
Egypt  a  Galla  slave  is  particularly  esteemed,  first  for 


(iALLA  I'LOUtillS. 
{Photoilrapli  by  CAPTAIN  Harrixc.TOX.) 


the  possession  of  a  good  heart,  and  secondly,  for  the 
possession  of  a  body  which,  like  an  iceplant,  is  always 
cool  even  in  the  most  burning  climate. 

The  origin  of  the  Gallas  is  lost  in  antiquity.  One 
theory  is  that  their  name  is  derived  from  the  word 
calla,  which  means  ''black"  in  a  variety  of  languages. 


THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME  227 


According  to  another  tradition  they  are  all  descended 
from  an  Abyssinian  princess  who  married  a  negro  slave. 

The  Gallas  are  certainly  the  most  natural  of  the 
natives  to  be  met  with  on  this  journey.  They  have 
been  entirely  uncontaminated  by  civilisation,  and 
though  they  are  not  scrupulous  in  the  matter  of 
murdering  strangers,  they  have  distinct  ideas  of 
honour  and  hospitality.  Once  they  come  to  believe 
that  fidelity  is  a  duty  in  a  given  case,  they  are  faithful 
unto  death.  Like  most  people  who  have  been  under 
subjection  for  generations,  they  are  decidedly  cunning, 
but  let  them  be  persuaded  that  they  are  being 
treated  well,  and  there  are  no  bounds  to  the  con- 
fidence which  may  be  reposed  in  them. 

No  other  natives  in  this  part  of  Africa  are  so  expert 
with  the  spear,  and  it  is  obvious  that  if  once  they 
could  be  reduced  to  proper  discipline,  they  must  make 
excellent  soldiers.  Until  recently  the  Abyssinians 
have  taken  great  pains  to  prevent  them  from  arming 
themselves,  knowing  very  well  that  if  once  these  brave 
savages  came  to  realise  their  own  strength,  they  would 
not  acquiesce  in  further  servitude.  But  now  a  certain 
French  Count,  whose  acquaintance  I  was  privileged 
to  make,  has  been  entrusted  with  the  task  of  drilling 
them,  and  reducing  them  to  discipline.  He  is  very 
sanguine  about  success,  and  I  certainly  agree  with 
him  that  he  could  not  possibly  have  any  finer  material 
to  work  upon. 

Somalis,  Gallas,  and  Abyssinians  alike  regard  their 
womenfolk  as  beasts  of  burthen.  At  Addis  Ababa, 
if  you  lack  wood,  you  order  it  by  the  woman-load, 


228 


ABYSSINIA 


and  wherever  you  go  you  meet  enormous  faggots, 
which  seem  to  be  walkins:  about  alone,  Hke  Birnam 
wood  on  its  way  to  Dunsinane,  and  it  is  only  by  very 
careful  inspection  that  you  discover  a  woman  is  stag- 
gering beneath.  The  fair  sex  are  expected  not 
merely  to  be  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water. 


C/VrXAIN   HARRINC.TON  ENTERING  HARRAR. 
(PJiolognifli  l.y].  Gerolimato.) 

but  to  do  all  the  hard  work  of  daily  life.  At  every 
spring  or  muddy  swamp  which  does  duty  as  a  well, 
there  is  always  a  great  congregation  of  women  filling 
huge  round  brass  pots,  which  must  be  enormously 
heavy  when  filled,  but  which  small  girls  carry  home 
cheerfully  for  a  couple  of  miles  on  the  top  of  their 
heads. 


THE  ABYSSINIANS  AT  HOME 


229 


I  have  alluded  to  the  survival  in  Abyssinia  of  the 
manners  and  customs  of  Bible  times.  You  have  only 
to  pause  at  a  well  to  realise  the  kind  of  scene  at  which 
Rebecca  figured.  In  our  conception  of  the  word,  it 
is  not  a  well  at  all.  Sometimes  it  is  a  pit  in  the  sand 
about  fifteen  feet  deep.  At  the  bottom  of  this  is  a 
hole  as  big  as  a  washhand  basin,  full  of  water,  which 
has  to  be  ladled  out  with  a  muor  or  cocoanut  shell. 
The  basin  keeps  on  replenishing  itself  from  the 
springs,  except  in  time  of  drought.  In  other  cases 
the  well  has  the  appearance  of  a  small  stagnant  pond 
full  of  horrid  green  weeds,  and  as  all  the  animals 
habitually  walk  into  it  to  drink,  it  is  not  very 
appetising  even  after  passing  through  a  filter.  These 
are  the  general  meeting-places  of  the  women  from 
neighbouring  villages,  and  they  delight  in  lingering 
to  gossip  while  they  fill  their  pots  or  water-skins. 
As  the  water  can  only  be  scooped  out  in  small 
quantities  and  by  very  few  women  at  a  time,  they 
may  often  be  detained  several  hours  before  they  can 
obtain  their  supply.  In  Somaliland  their  chief  em- 
ployment, besides  carrying  burthens,  is  to  look  after 
the  flocks.  I  often  met  a  drove  of  some  hundreds 
of  sheep  or  goats  marching  across  the  desert,  brought 
up  at  the  rear  by  a  lanky  girl,  wearing  only  a  thick 
collection  of  bright  glass  beads  and  a  loincloth  petti- 
coat. "  She  was  a  shepherdess,  O  so  dark !  "  I  would 
hum  to  myself. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  women  carrying  burthens. 
Their  favourite  burthen,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  was 
a  number  of  babies.    The  first  impression  was  of  a 


230 


ABYSSINIA 


black  woman  plodding  along  bent  nearly  double 
beneath  a  biu^  round  bundle,  like  a  clothes-bacr  in 
appearance,  attached  to  her  back.  It  was  only  on 
near  inspection  that  I  would  make  out  one  or  two 
or  three  bald  black  heads  blinking  out  of  the 
bundle.  The  construction  of  the  load  was  very 
simple.  A  woman's  costume  generally  consists  of 
a  big  sheet,  part  of  which  is  wound  round  the  waist 
and  the  rest  fluncr  over  her  shoulder.  When  she  is 
carrying  babies,  she  simply  wraps  them  up  in  that 
portion  of  the  sheet  which  goes  over  her  back. 

The  strange  thing,  both  about  Abyssinian  and 
Somali  women  is,  that  in  spite  of  all  their  hard  work, 
they  are  by  no  means  bad-looking.  Generally,  where 
the  women  do  the  work  and  the  men  take  their  ease, 
we  find  the  men  fine  and  large,  the  women  stunted 
and  hideous.  Here  on  the  contrary,  unless  they  are 
actually  grovelling  beneath  a  burthen,  they  hold 
themselves  quite  erect,  and,  particularly  when  they 
are  still  young,  they  have  supple  limbs  and  good 
figures.  As  with  the  men,  it  is  very  rare  for  them  to 
grow  stout,  and  they  certainly  carry  themselves  with 
a  great  deal  of  distinction.  They  have  great  notions 
of  coquetry,  too,  in  spite  of  being  despised  by  the 
other  sex.  They  wear  every  bit  of  jewellery  they  can 
possibly  lay  hands  upon,  whether  of  silver  or  brass  or 
glass. 

But  what  they  take  a  special  pride  in  is  the 
arrangement  of  their  hair.  This  in  the  case  of  the 
Abyssinians  is  dressed  in  a  very  remarkable  way. 
When  finished,   it  looks    like  a  number  of  glossy 


THE  ABYSSIXIAXS  AT  HOME  231 


black  ridges,  carved  upon  the  top  of  the  head,  leaving 
wide  valleys  of  skin  between  each  ridge.  The 
process  is  a  very  long  one,  each  lock  being  separated 
by  a  pin,  elaborately  plaited,  steeped  in  melted  butter 
and  then  plastered  down  firmly  against  the  skull. 
However,  the  hair  only  needs  dressing  at  very  long 
interv^als,  say  two  or  three  times  a  year,  on  the 
occasion  of  some  high  festival.  To  prevent  all 
possibility  of  disarranging  it,  an  Abyssinian  woman 
never  allows  it  to  touch  a  pillow,  but  sleeps  with 
her  neck  poised  upon  a  wooden  rest. 

Though  her  features  are  comely,  she  is  not  the  sort 
of  person  one  would  care  to  choose  as  a  companion. 
For  one  thing,  I  do  not  suppose  that  she  ever  vvashes 
herself  in  her  life,  the  butter  on  her  hair  grows 
rancid  and  emits  a  peculiarly  pungent  odour,  which 
affronts  the  nostrils  when  )'ou  pass  her  in  the  desert, 
and  wherever  she  goes  she  carries  with  her  a  large 
black  cluster  of  Hies  congregated  on  her  back. 

Marriage  is  not  popular  with  the  women  in  either 
of  these  countries,  and  they  will  only  consent  to  it 
when  physical  force  is  actually  used  Indeed,  the 
Somali  husbands  always  carry  a  whip  during  the 
first  fortnight  of  their  honeymoon  to  keep  their  wives 
in  order.  It  is  a  cruel-looking  instrument,  studded 
with  steel  on  the  handle,  and  fitted  with  a  long  strap 
of  hippopotamus  hide.  In  Abyssinia  there  are  two 
kinds  of  marriage,  which  may  be  called  the  civil  and 
the  religious,  or  the  temporary  and  the  permanent, 
as  you  prefer.  The  permanent  one  seems  to  be  very 
rare,  only  priests  and  persons  of  extraordinary  piety 


232 


ABYSSINIA 


indulging  in  it.  The  other  marriage  is  recognised  as 
perfectly  genuine  so  far  as  it  goes,  but,  as  in  America, 
it  may  be  dissolved  at  will.  The  man  need  only 
write  out  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  my  lady  must 
forthwith  pack  up  her  traps  and  be  gone.  To  pro- 
vide against  this  a  certain  sum  is  agreed  upon  at 
the  time  of  marriage,  for  payment  by  the  husband 
in  the  event  of  his  wishing  to  divorce.  My  friend 
the  coffee-planter  at  Harrar  had  to  promise  to  pay 
£io  to  his  little  Galla  wife  if  ever  he  sent  her 
away,  but  that  was  considered  an  exceptionally  heavy 
fee.  Prince  Henry  of  Orleans  relates  another  marriage 
custom  amone  the  Gallas,  about  the  truth  of  which 
I  am  by  no  means  confident.  He  alleges  that,  if 
a  man  falls  in  love  with  some  one  else's  wife  and  she 
returns  his  regard,  he  has  only  to  go  to  the  husband 
and  ask  for  her,  and  the  husband  is  even  obliged  to 
o^ive  her  a  dowrv. 


SOMALI  HUSBAND  WITH  WIFE-WHIP. 

{Photonmph  by  Captain  Harrington.) 


Chapter  IX 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION 

The  Succession  —  "  Liberalism  "  —  Taxation  —  Money — Justice  — 
Prisoners — The  Army — MiUtary  Prospects — Barbarities  of  War- 
fare— Custom-houses — H.  E.  a  Village  Governor — Garasmach 
Banti — Black  Red  Tape — Local  Passports — Lagahardim — A 
White  Elephant — Choba — Detained  by  Officials — More  Worries 
— Greed  at  Gildessa. 

Though  the  Abyssinians  seem  to  imagine  themselves 
the  only  really  white  people  and  the  only  real 
Christians  in  the  world,  we  of  Europe  being  red-skin 
infidels,  their  ideas  of  administration  and  government 
are  essentially  those  of  the  darkest  ages.  An 
absolute  monarchy  I  admire,  but  an  empire  with  no 
fixed  laws  of  succession  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with 
the  most  induloent  theories  of  leoitimism.  There  are 
in  Abyssinia  a  number  of  petty  chieftains,  who  call 
themselves  Negus  or  King.  But  their  power  is  at 
the  best  strictly  limited  and  local.  They  are  some- 
times appointed  by  the  Emperor,  but  more  often 
it  is  the  strongest  of  them  who  seizes  the  throne  and 
keeps  it  so  long  as  he  has  a  sufficient  following.  The 
consequence  is  that  civil  war  is  more  or  less  chronic, 
and  as  the  Emperor's  writ  does  not  run  very  far 
outside  his  own  petty  kingdom  of  Shoa,  there  is  very 

little  control  over  anybody. 

235 


236 


ABYSSINIA 


In  Servia  I  thought  I  had  discovered  the  only 
country  in  the  world,  where  nobody  knows  and 
nobody  seems  to  care  who  will  succeed  on  a  demise 
of  the  crown.  But  not  only  is  this  the  case  in  the 
empire  of  Abyssinia,  but  it  is  certain  that  a  prolonged 
period  of  anarchy  must  ensue  upon  the  death  of 
Menelik.  The  Negus  Negusti,  or  King  of  Kings,  is 
merely  the  strongest  man  in  the  empire,  just  as 
a  Negus  is  the  strongest  man  in  his  own  locality. 
There  is  no  idea  of  hereditary  succession,  and 
whether  or  no  Menelik  has  any  sons  is  a  maiter 
of  the  supremest  indifference  to  anybody.  He  is 
patriotic  enough  to  wish  to  save  his  country  from  the 
horrors  of  civil  war,  and  I  believe  he  is  working  to 
secure  the  succession  for  Ras  Makonnen,  who  is 
generally  looked  upon  as  the  second  man  in  the 
empire.  But  Ras  Makonnen  has  not  so  good  a 
life  as  Menelik,  and,  though  a  very  shrewd  man,  may 
not  have  the  strength  and  character  necessary  for 
seizing  and  holding  the  Imperial  throne. 

While  I  was  at  Harrar  I  had  an  interesting  con- 
versation with  a  member  of  what  I  may  call  the 
young  Abyssinia  party,  a  restless  individual  who  had 
travelled  much  in  Europe  and  brought  back  many 
ideas  of  what  some  people  are  pleased  to  call  progress. 
He  told  me  quite  gravely  that  he  desired  to  see 
a  Parliament  established  in  Ethiopia.  All  his  con- 
structive ideas  were  equally  ridiculous,  but  when  he 
dwelt  upon  the  inconvenience  of  the  present  system 
of  succession,  he  was  able  to  make  out  a  good 
case. 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  237 


"  Anybody,"  said  he,  "  even  the  humble  individual 
now  addressing  you  may  consider  that  he  has  the 
Imperial  crown  in  his  knapsack.  Suppose  that 
Menelik  dies  to-morrow.  I  consult  with  half  a 
dozen  friends,  and  they  agree  to  regard  me  as  their 
leader.  We  take  our  spears  and  guns  and  ride  out 
into  a  village.  There  we  enrol  the  inhabitants  by 
threats  and  promises.  If  I  succeed,  they  shall  have 
money  and  high  official  posts,  whereas  if  they  refuse 
to  join  me,  I  shall  kill  them  and  take  everything 
they  have.  I  go  on  like  this  from  village  to  village, 
and  very  soon  I  have  several  hundred  warriors  at 
my  back.  Meanwhile  several  other  men  have  been 
doing  the  same  thing  on  their  own  account.  I  meet 
them  one  at  a  time,  defeat  them  and  enrol  their 
followers.  Unless  somebody  kills  me,  I  am  presently 
at  the  head  of  a  large  army,  I  march  upon  the  capital, 
or.  more  probably  found  a  capital  of  my  own.  and 
I  proclaim  myself  King  of  Kings,  Conquering  Lion 
of  Judah.  I  have  only  taken  myself  as  an  instance 
to  show  you  how  possible  it  is  for  anybody  in  the 
country  to  seize  the  reins  of  government.  You  may 
be  quite  certain  that  this  will  be  the  way  in  which 
somebody  or  other  will  turn  himself  into  the  next 
Emperor.  Who  he  may  be  not  a  soul  can  have  the 
faintest  inkling  until  the  time  shall  come." 

The  system  of  taxation  in  vogue  has  at  least  the 
merit  of  simplicity.  In  every  village  a  shum,  or 
governor,  is  nominated  by  the  Government.  He 
takes  taxes  from  the  people  by  certain  rules,  which 
are   always    violated  ;    meanwhile    the  Government 


238 


ABYSSINIA 


exacts  taxes  from  the  shums  in  the  most  arbitrary  and 
haphazard  way.  Sometimes  a  shum  may  be  for- 
gotten for  a  long"  time,  and  he  begins  to  grow  rich 
upon  the  money  he  has  collected.  Then  all  of  a 
sudden  there  comes  an  exorbitant  demand  from  head- 
quarters, and  he  must  satisfy  it  as  best  he  may  or 
go  to  prison  until  he  can  do  so.  Everybody  is  made 
to  pay  tithes  on  all  he  possesses,  and  there  are  taxes 
on  every  sale  at  a  public  market,  but  the  favourite 
method  of  collecting  revenue  is  to  come  down  suddenly 
upon  those  who  are  suspected  of  being  rich,  and  oblige 
them  to  disgorge.  Accordingly  Abyssinians  are  always 
very  anxious  to  make  themselves  out  much  poorer  than 
they  really  are.  Of  course  the  system  involves  a  good 
deal  of  hardship,  but  it  will  probably  commend  itself 
to  Radical  reformers,  who  believe  in  taxing  the  rich 
and  sparing  the  poor.  So  far,  oddly  enough,  Euro- 
peans in  Abyssinia  have  been  left  practically  untaxed, 
save  for  an  import  duty  of  8  per  cent,  on  all  goods 
intended  to  be  sold  by  retail. 

Menelik  is,  beyond  all  else,  a  merchant  prince,  and 
his  people  have  all  the  smaller  instincts  of  tradesmen. 
They  give  nothing  for  nothing — indeed  they  generally 
contrive  to  obtain  far  more  than  a  fair  equivalent  for 
anything  they  consent  to  sell.  But  they  are  certainly 
not  businesslike,  certainly  not  practical. 

Take  their  currency  for  instance.  I  had  lingering 
half-hopes  of  finding  beads  legal  tender,  and  of  being 
able  to  exchange  a  bit  of  glass  for  a  nugget  or  an 
emerald.  But  the  Abyssinians  have  passed  the 
childish  stage    of  commerce   without  reaching  the 


ABYSSIXIAX  ADMIX ISTRATIOX 


^39 


approaches  of  maturity.  Until  recently  the  money 
table  micrht  have  been  set  down  as  follows  : — 

o 

4  cartridges   ...        ...    i  salt. 

4  salts. . .        ...        .  .     I  Maria  Theresa  dollar. 

The  cartridores  mio-ht  be  of  anv  size  or  calibre,  and 
passed  current  just  as  well  if  some  dishonest  person 
filled  them  with  sand.  They  were  not  intended  for 
use.  but  as  a  medium  of  exchange.  When  I  first  saw 
a  salt  I  imagined  it  was  a  o;rindstone  ;  on  closer 
inspection  I  could  just  make  out  that  it  was  a  bar  of 
salt  much  begrimed  by  frequent  handling.  All  are  of 
the  same  size,  shape,  and  weight,  being  regularly 
minted  in  Ti^re.  where  lo  o'o  to  8i. 

The  Maria  Theresa  dollar  is  a  facsimile  of  the  coin 
of  1780.  It  is  still  issued  by  the  Austrian  Govern- 
ment, and  circulates  as  a  trade  coin  nearly  all  over 
Africa.  Though  rouo^hlv  about  the  size  ol  a  hve- 
shilling  piece,  it  only  exchanges  for  a  little  more  than 
its  intrinsic  value,  which  was  about  is.  iid.  when  I 
left  Africa. 

Menelik  started  dollars  with  his  own  image  and 
superscription,  and  they  circulate  equally  with  the 
Maria  Theresa  at  Harrar  and  Addis  Ababa,  but  are 
little  known  elsewhere,  and  suffer  painful  discount  at 
the  coast.  He  has  also  issued  divisionary  silver  money, 
the  smallest  being  a  piastre  of  the  same  size  and 
reputed  value  as  the  two-anna  piece,  which  Indian 
merchants  have  installed  at  Harrar. 

With  a  delightful  ignorance  of  political  economy, 
Menelik  has  made  an  arbitrary  decree  that  sixteen 


240 


ABYSSINIA 


piastres  (or  sixteen  two-anna  bits)  shall  go  to  one  of 
his  dollars  ;  in  other  words,  that  a  dollar  shall  be 
w^orth  two  rupees,  whereas  it  really  fetches  less  than 
one  and  a  half  in  the  market.  The  result  is  that, 
between  themselves,  individuals  only  give  eleven  or 
twelve  piastres  to  the  dollar,  according  to  the  fluctua- 
tion of  the  exchange,  but  that  the  post  and  other 
Government  offices  must  reckon  it  at  sixteen.  At 
Harrar  you  may  have  sixteen  piastres'  worth  of  stamps 


mexelik's  dollar. 


for  your  dollar,  but  the  postmaster  draws  the  line  at 
giving  you  change  on  the  artificial  scale.  I  was  told, 
however,  at  Addis  Ababa  that  many  Indians  had 
made  a  great  deal  of  money  by  obtaining  piastres 
there  at  sixteen  to  the  dollar  and  disposing  of  them 
at  twelve. 

At  once  I  despatched  a  servant  to  the  toll  office  in 
the  market  to  ask  for  as  many  piastres  as  could  be 
spared  up  to  ;^ioo.  But  the  answer  came  back: 
Very  sorry,   their  stock  of  piastres  had  run  short. 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  241 


Evidently  Abyssinians  were  not  such  fools  as  they 
sounded. 

The  prime  drawback  about  the  currency  of  Abys- 
sinia is  that  there  is  practically  no  smaller  coin  than 
a  silver  twopence.  Menelik  has  had  some  copper 
minted,  but  I  have  not  seen  it  anywhere  except  as  a 
curiosity.  1  remember  being  stopped  on  the  road 
one  day  by  a  man  who  produced  something  with  a 
great  air  of  mysterious  importance,  and  offered  to  let 
me  have  it  for  a  dollar.  On  investigation  it  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  still-born  halfpence  of  the  realm. 

At  Harrar  there  were  all  sorts  of  inconveniences 
for  my  men  whenever  they  wanted  to  make  small 
purchases.  Suppose  Abdi  ordered  a  cup  of  coffee, 
worth  an  eighth  or  a  tenth  of  a  piastre,  he  must  hand 
over  a  whole  piastre  and  come  again  seven  or  nine 
times  more  to  exhaust  it.  Fancy  having  a  score  or 
so  of  similar  accounts  running  in  various  parts  of  the 
town  !  What  a  contrast  for  Aden  Somalis  after  the 
infinitely  subdivided  coinage  of  India! 

On  the  road  only  dollars  and  salts  were  accepted, 
and,  before  I  could  lay  in  a  supply  of  salts,  I  had  to 
resort  to  all  sorts  of  shifts  in  the  way  of  barter  when 
I  wanted  eggs  or  milk  or  fuel.  At  one  place  I  gave 
a  handful  of  my  mule's  durra,  at  another  some  lumps 
of  sugar,  which  excited  great  curiosity,  and  elsewhere 
a  cheap  loincloth  from  Aden.  Besides  cartridges,  I 
found  that  empty  botdes  were  nearly  always  accept- 
able as  the  equivalent  of  piastres. 

Among  the  current  piastres  were  battered  ones 
from  Egypt  with  the  image  and  superscription  almost 

R 


242 


ABYSSINIA 


effaced.  It  was  generally  touch  and  go  whether  they 
would  be  accepted  or  not.  One  day  I  found  a  trouser 
button  among  the  coins  in  my  pocket,  and  I  asked  the 
cook  how  many  eggs  he  thought  it  would  fetch.  He 
thought  I  was  serious,  and  kept  shaking  his  head  for 
a  long  time,  saying,  "  No,  no,  sah'b,  he  no  take  that." 

Another  drawback  is  that  the  highest  denomination 
is  a  coin  as  big  as  a  crown  and  worth  only  a  florin.  I 
have  often  wondered,  if  I  became  possessed  of  Hans 
Andersen's  tinder-box  and  made  my  way  down  to 
those  delightful  dogs  with  eyes  as  big  as  saucers,  how 
much  money  I  should  be  able  to  take  away.  If  it 
were  all  in  Maria  Theresa  dollars,  I  am  afraid  I 
should  not  be  enriched  for  life.  On  leaving  Harrar, 
homeward  bound,  I  found  myself  stranded  with  ^44 
worth  of  them  which  I  had  not  packed  when  my 
caravan  set  out,  and  it  was  as  much  as  ever  that  a 
Somali  could  carry  the  sackful  on  his  head.  At  very 
short  intervals  he  would  brinor  it  down  on  to  the 

o 

ground  with  a  great  jingle,  and  beg  to  have  his 
burthen  transferred  to  some  other  body.  Luckily 
there  were  no  hicxhwaymen  lurkino-  in  wait  amid  the 
shrubberies  of  candelabra  cactus. 

Abyssinian  justice  is  largely  dependent  upon  the 
exigencies  of  Abyssinian  taxation.  I  believe  there 
is  a  code,  based  upon  the  fatah-Negust,  which 
is  derived  more  or  less  indirectly  from  the  old 
Roman  law.  Tradition,  too,  has  a  certain  force,  but 
practically  every  judge  decides  according  to  the 
inspiration  of  the  moment.  There  is  a  short  way 
with    thieves    in    Abyssinia.      You    may  see  them 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  243 


undergoing  punishment  almost  any  Saturday  in  the 
market-place  at  Addis  Ababa.  First  they  are  spread- 
eagled,  then  the  stolen  objects  are  placed  between 
their  arms,  and  they  are  flogged  round  the  capital. 
For  graver  offences,  hands  or  feet  are  removed  in 
public.  First  the  executioner  comes  brandishing  a 
razor  ;  with  this  he  cuts  the  skin  all  round  the  limb, 
which  he  then  proceeds  to  chop  off  at  the  joint. 
Then  the  wretched  victim  is  left  bleeding  on  the 
ground,  unless  some  good  Samaritan  cares  to  come 
and  minister  to  his  wounds.  M.  Ilg,  the  Swiss 
Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  when  he  first  obtained 
power  in  the  land,  remonstrated  with  Menelik  about 
the  barbarism  of  these  penalties,  but  the  Emperor 
replied,  "If  we  tried  to  establish  the  gentle  methods, 
which  suffice  in  your  country,  the  only  result  would 
be  that  crime  would  go  utterly  unchecked.  We 
cannot  have  elaborate  formalities,  and  policemen, 
and  magistrates,  and  juries,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 
If  we  had  roads  and  railways  it  might  be  another 
matter,  but  at  present  it  is  so  difficult  to  get  about 
that  we  consider  ourselves  very  fortunate  in  catching 
as  many  culprits  as  we  do.  And  when  we  catch  them 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  make  an  example  of 
them."  M.  Ilcr  soon  saw  that  there  was  a  threat  deal 
of  truth  in  this,  and  he  ceased  to  make  remonstrances. 

Moreover,  criminals  have  plenty  of  warning,  and 
can  nearly  always  get  off  by  making  a  money 
payment.  The  first  few  infractions  of  the  law  are 
generally  not  punished  at  all,  but  merely  noted  against 
an  offender.     Then  one  fine  day  he  is  seized  and 


244 


ABYSSINIA 


put  in  irons.  An  investigation  is  made  as  to  his 
wealth.  He  is  told,  say,  that  he  must  pay  25,000 
dollars,  and  so  soon  as  this  is  forthcoming  he  is  let 
out.  As  an  instance  of  Abyssinian  methods,  I  may 
mention  the  case  of  the  chief  of  police  at  Harrar.  A 


AN  ABYSSINIAN   PRISONER  AND  HIS  WARDER. 
(Photo::,raph  by  Captain  Harrington.) 


friend  of  mine  saw  him  bastinadoed  in  the  public 
square.  W  hat  was  my  friend's  astonishment  to  hear, 
eight  days  later,  that  the  man  was  out  of  prison  and 
restored  to  his  functions. 

Prisons  are  generally  used  chiefiy  for  political 
offenders,  and  for   persons  who  are  slow  to  meet 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION 


245 


the  demands  of  the  tax-gatherer.  Often  on  my 
journey  in  the  open  country  I  would  pass  a  couple 
of  men,  one  of  whom  had  his  left  wrist  connected 
with  the  other's  right  by  a  steel  chain.  They  walked 
along  quite  cheerfully,  and  just  behind  them  was  a 
policeman  with  a  gun  pointing  at  them.  This  was 
such  an  ordinary  event  that  nobody  seemed  to  take 
any  particular  notice  of  it. 

Within  its  limitations  the  Abyssinian  army  calls  for 
considerable  admiration.  It  is  almost  exclusively  com- 
posed of  cavalry,  and  every  Abyssinian  is  a  born  rider. 
To  facilitate  the  question  of  mounts,  the  Emperor 
has  decreed  that  no  horse  may  be  sold  within  his 
dominions  for  more  than  forty  dollars  (under  ^4). 
As  the  average  horse  is  worth  a  good  deal  more,  this 
in  any  other  country  would  mean  that  few  horses 
would  be  sold  ;  but  he  has  gone  further,  and  estab- 
lished a  system  of  commandeering,  by  which  soldiers 
may  requisition  any  horses  which  they  fancy. 

At  the  word  of  command  the  soldiers  set  out  on 
horseback,  accompanied  by  their  women  and  children, 
and  travel  very  fast.  F'or  a  sudden  rush  upon  an 
unprepared  enemy  they  are  unequalled.  But  there  is 
no  provision  for  commissariat.  During  a  campaign  they 
live  on  bits  of  broken  bread,  or  dzii^^osh,^  and  have  only 
the  rations  which  they  can  carry  on  their  saddles. 
These  there  is  no  possibility  of  replenishing  in  a 
country  where  no  one  does  any  more  work  than  is 

^  Durgosh  is  a  thin  unleavened  bread  made  from  teff  flour  dried 
in  the  sun  and  pounded  into  a  powder.  The  favourite  way  of  serving 
it  is  as  a  porridge  mixed  with  ghee  (the  native  butter). 


246 


ABYSSINIA 


necessary  for  his  immediate  needs  ;  and  though  an 
Abyssinian  appetite  is  very  easily  satisfied,  it  is  obvious 
that  he  cannot  go  on  very  long  with  such  methods.  I 
have  been  told  that  at  a  pinch  the  bits  of  broken  bread 
in  the  saddle-bag  may  last  him  and  his  family  for  a 


I'REI'ARIXC.  DI  KCIOSII. 
{Pliotoomph  by  Captain  HARRix(iro\.) 


couple  of  months,  but  that  is  the  very  outside,  and 
probably  a  gross  exaggeration.  On  the  other  hand, 
this  absence  of  commissariat  is  advantaoeous  for  a 
swift,  short  campaign,  and  is  assisted  by  the  absence 
of  artillery  and  tents.  The  neat  and  ingenious  huts, 
to  which  I  have  alluded,  are  built  up  in  about  two 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  247 


hours  out  of  materials  to  be  found  at  most  camping- 
places. 

No  uniform  of  any  sort  is  worn,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  distinguish  an  Abyssinian  soldier  from  a 
civilian.  Each  wears  the  same  grubby  shamma  ;  each 
probably  carries  a  gun,  the  muzzle  of  which  is  stuffed 
up  with  a  bit  of  hay  or  rag  ;  each  rides  the  same  kind 
of  rough,  long-tailed  horse,  which  he  mounts  from  the 
right  side,  because  his  long  curved  sword  in  its  red 
leathern  scabbard  is  worn  upon  his  right  hip  ;  in  fact, 
the  soldier  and  civilian  are  merely  two  different 
aspects  of  the  same  person.  Anybody  is  liable  to 
be  ordered  out  to  military  service  at  the  beck  of  his 
feudal  superior,  but  if  a  body  of  men  grow  tired  of 
the  campaign,  there  is  very  little  to  prevent  them 
from  retiring  home  to  their  flocks. 

In  the  field  there  is  a  good  deal  of  punctilio  about 
the  superior  officers  with  their  high-sounding  titles. 
Certain  men  take  their  orders  only  from  the  Emperor, 
others  from  these  only,  and  so  on  ;  but  this  relaxes 
instead  of  tightening  discipline.  As  was  the  case  in 
our  own  civil  wars,  when  it  comes  to  a  battle,  the 
greater  part  of  the  Abyssinian  army  fights  where  and 
how  it  pleases,  advancing  recklessly  upon  an  obvious 
opportunity  and  tearing  into  headlong  flight  at  the  first 
suspicion  of  disaster. 

The  Italians  were  defeated  because  they  advanced 
too  far  and  despised  their  enemies,  who  made  a 
lucky  rush  and  overwhelmed  them.  Against  a  slow, 
careful,  patient,  unrelenting  advance,  the  Abys- 
sinians  would   be  helpless.      If  Menelik   were  im- 


248 


ABYSSINIA 


prudent  enough  to  quarrel  with  us,  we  could  invade 
him  from  the  Soudan  at  any  moment,  and  in  one  year, 
or  certainly  in  two,  could  annex  and  reorganise  his 
dominions.  But  it  would  occupy  a  great  many  men 
and  cost  an  enormous  sum  of  money,  which  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  an  occupation  would 
not  balance.  So  long  as  he  maintains  his  present 
friendlv  relations  and  resists  the  beo^uilements  with 
which  France  and  Russia  seek  to  lure  him  on  to  his 
own  destruction,  we  can  afford  to  leave  him  alone  and 
help  him  with  his  very  modest  aspirations.  Still,  for 
the  sake  of  settlers  in  Abyssinia,  if  they  should  ever 
attain  to  important  proportions,  it  might  be  well  if 
some  white  people  inflicted  a  salutary  lesson.  This 
the  French  colony  at  Harrar  quite  admits,  and 
many  of  them  said  to  me  that  they  would  welcome 
even  a  British  occupation  in  preference  to  the  present 
system  of  barbaric  government. 

It  is  no  doubt  reasonable  that  a  nation  of  niggers, 
possessing  three  hundred  thousand  rifles,  should  take 
a  tone  different  from  that  of  nicr^rers  who  are  not 
permitted  to  possess  any,  but  they  go  too  far 
when  they  presume  to  arrogate  to  themselves  a 
superiority  over  civilised  countries  against  w^hich  they 
could  not  possibly  stand  up.  I  admire  their  ancient 
civilisation  so  far  as  it  goes,  or  rather  so  far  back  as 
it  goes,  and  I  hope  that  their  independence  may  be 
respected  ;  but  this  must  depend  largely  upon  their  own 
wisdom  and  prudence  and  modesty. 

The  atrocities  committed  by  them  during  the  war 
against  Italy  are  not  easy  to  condone,  and  arouse 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  249 


doubts  as  to  the  extent  of  the  toleration  which  they 
ought  to  be  allowed  by  Europe.  When  I  was  at 
Harrar  I  bought  a  bracelet,  consisting  of  Italians' 
teeth  strung  together.  They  have  some  black  marks 
of  decay  or  of  discolouring  by  tobacco,  but  on 
the  whole  form  a  pretty  ornament  of  glistening  ivory. 
Whenever  I  look  upon  it  there  come  to  my  mind 
gruesome  visions  of  black  ghouls  hovering  over  the 
battlefields  and  forcing  their  horrible  pincers  into 
the  mouths  of  wounded  and  dying.  Yet  this  was 
one  of  the  least  of  the  horrible  mutilations  which 
the  Abyssinians  were  accustomed  to  practise  upon 
those  who  fell  into  their  inhuman  clutches. 

The  most  delightful  custom-house  I  ever  passed 
through  was  at  Zaila.  There  were  no  impertinent 
interrogatories,  no  brutal  ransacking  of  luggage,  not 
even  a  minute's  detention.  About  a  day  after  my 
arrival  a  message  came  asking  me  to  jot  down  a  list 
of  any  articles  which  had  to  pay  duty.  I  did  so,  and 
in  due  course  a  reasonable  bill  was  sent  in.  Custom- 
houses are  always  odious,  but  when  they  take  your 
word  in  this  very  courteous  way  you  feel  no  annoy- 
ance and  scarcely  any  temptation  to  cheat.  At  Jibuti, 
too,  to  give  the  Frenchman  his  due,  there  was  very 
little  bother.  An  official  came  up  and  asked  me  in 
very  fair  English  what  my  baggage  contained,  and, 
learning  that  I  was  only  passing  through  to  Europe, 
allowed  me  to  go  my  way  in  peace.  I  only  wish  I 
could  congratulate  the  Abyssinians  on  similar  for- 
bearance. They  certainly  bear  out  my  theory  that 
custom-houses    are  a  relic  of  barbarism,   for  these 


250 


ABYSSINIA 


barbarians  take  advantage  of  the  institution  to  the 
fullest  and  most  barbarous  extent.  I  was  not  molested 
on  my  way  up  until  I  reached  Harrar.  At  Somadu, 
where  I  first  entered  Abyssinian  territory,  there  was 
nothing  but  a  guard-house — a  little  hut  perched  on  the 
top  of  a  hill — flying  the  Abyssinian  flag  :  white,  red, 
and  white  horizontal  stripes.  No  one  took  any  notice 
of  me,  and  I  was  free  to  pass  on  to  Gildessa.  Here 
there  was  some  talk  of  a  custom-house,  but  my 
amiability  to  His  Excellency  the  Village  Governor 
exempted  me  from  trouble  until  my  return. 

As  I  was  taking  a  well-earned  rest  there  with  a 
novel  under  a  tree,  Reggel,  my  cook,  came  to  inform 
me  that  company  was  coming.  I  looked  up  and 
beheld  a  stout  black  ridino-  a  mule.  He  wore  a  laroe 
felt  wideawake,  a  white  sheet,  and  a  pair  of  white 
knickerbockers.  Beside  him  ran  three  Abyssinian 
soldiers,  two  of  whom  were  boys  with  a  Japanese 
cast  of  countenance.  It  was  a  state  visit  from  His 
Excellency  the  Governor  of  Gildessa. 

He  dismounted  some  ten  yards  away,  removed  his 
wideawake,  and  advanced  holding  out  his  hand.  I 
made  him  sit  down  and  despatched  Reggel  for 
refreshments.  Now  we  were  in  a  quandary,  for  my 
other  English-speaking  servants  were  taking  their 
afternoon  off  However,  we  nodded  and  grinned  at 
intervals,  and  His  Excellency  was  graciously  pleased 
to  accept  one  of  my  cigarettes.  Bottled  cherries  and 
whiskey-pegs  arrived.  He  behaved  like  a  child 
among  fireworks  when  a  cork  jumped.  He  grinned 
and   said,      Ah-h  !  "     Then  he  tasted  the  decoction. 


ABYSSINIAN  AD^IINISTRATION 


orrinned  wider,  and  said,  "  Ah-h-h  !  "  The  cherries 
he  would  not  touch  until  I  had  o-one  throuoh  the 
formality  of  tasting  them  first.  This  is  Ethiopian 
etiquette  and  a  safeguard  against  poisoners.  When 
he  had  eaten  and  drunk  he  passed  on  the  remains  to 
his  retainers,  who  tasted  in  turn  and  politely  said, 
Ah-h!" 

I  called  in  the  cook  to  interpret.  He  translated  my 
remarks  into  Somali,  and  one  of  His  Excellency's 
retainers  translated  them  on  into  Amharic,  the  official 
language  of  Ethiopia.  But  though  my  guest  stayed 
a  very  long  time  and  consumed  much  whiskey,  we 
seemed  to  cret  throuoh  verv  little  conversation.  He 
remarked  that  he  had  expected  me  to  visit  him.  I 
replied  that  with  us  the  resident  paid  the  first  call. 
Then  he  apologised,  and  said  he  would  have  called 
earlier  only  his  son  had  died  yesterday  and  he  was 
much  distressed.  I  condoled  politely,  and  poured  out 
more  whiskey.  Presently  he  took  from  one  of  his 
retainers  a  letter,  which  he  wished  me  to  translate 
for  him.  It  was  from  an  English  traveller  who  had 
recently  passed  that  way.  It  began,  "  Dear  Sir," 
thanked  him  for  his  attentions,  and  begged  his 
acceptance  of  a  silver  watch.  Every  traveller  gave 
him  a  letter  and  a  present.  His  Excellency  remarked 
in  comment,  eyeing  me  significantly. 

An  hour  or  two  later  I  rode  across  the  torrent-bed 
and  up  the  steep  hill  to  the  guard-huts,  escorted  by 
all  my  servants,  to  return  the  visit.  His  Excellency's 
summer-house  did  not  err  in  the  direction  of  vulgar 
display.     The  wattled  roof  was  bare,  and  the  mud 


252 


ABYSSINIA 


walls  were  rudely  whitewashed.  Upon  them  were 
pinned  a  few  gaudy  French  lithographs,  the  most  con- 
spicuous being  one  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  which 
served  to  remind  me  that  I  was  once  more  in  a 
Christian  country.  A  variety  of  guns  and  cartridge- 
belts  completed  the  adornment  of  the  walls.  The 
furniture  consisted  of  a  ragged  ottoman  for  me  and 
a  stool  for  my  host.  I  obtained  some  information 
about  hiring  camels  on  to  Harrar,  but  we  had  already 
exhausted  our  topics  of  conversation,  and  I  could  see 
that  he  was  depressed  at  receiving  no  present.  So  1 
hastened  to  assure  him  that  I  should  send  him  one 
with  a  written  testimonial  before  I  went  away.  He 
then  brightened  up,  and  volunteered  to  write  about 
me  to  Atto  Marsha,  who  is  the  real  Governor  of 
Gildessa,  but  prefers  to  dwell  as  an  absentee  among 
the  gaieties  of  Harrar.  He  escorted  me  some  twenty 
yards  along  the  top  of  his  hill  and  lavished  good 
wishes  upon  me.  Then  came  the  question,  what 
to  bestow  upon  His  Excellency.  Abdi  suggested  a 
ofun,  but  that  was  ridiculous,  and  I  had  to  remember 
that  I  mioht  have  to  m  on  rewardino-  other  func- 

o  o  o 

tionaries  on  the  same  scale  further  on.  After  much 
reflection  I  decided  to  send  him  three  small  presents, 
so  I  despatched  a  bottle  of  whiskey,  some  bottled 
ereenoraofes,  and  a  bee  clock,  with  a  messaQ^e  that  three 
is  the  number  of  the  Trinity.  He  was  evidently 
satisfied,  for  presendy  he  returned  my  compliment 
with  a  goat,  a  basket  of  eggs,  and  a  request  for  a 
letter. 

It  seemed  to  me  flat  to  address    an  Ethiopian 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  253 


Governor  as  "Dear  Sir."  So  I  began:  ''May  it 
please  your  Excellency,"  I  thanked  him  for  "the 
sonorous  he-goat  which  your  Excellency  has  deigned 
to  confer  upon  me,"  and  I  wound  up,  "Given  at  our 
camp  in  Gildessa  this  sixteenth  day  of  December 
in  the  year  of  Grace  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
ninety-nine."  This  was  more  the  sort  of  thing,  me- 
thought,  though  after  all  it  mattered  little,  as  His 
Excellency  had  no  English. 

In  spite  of  all  these  amenities,  however.  His 
Excellency  used  me  very  ill  on  my  return  journey, 
as  will  presently  appear. 

I  entered  Harrar  several  hours  before  my  caravan, 
prompted  by  a  great  desire  for  my  correspondence. 
I  was  for  going  directly  to  the  Consulate,  but  when  I 
reached  the  big  square  I  was  compelled  to  go  first  to 
the  custom-house  and  give  up  my  guns.  I  emerged 
from  a  throng  of  unsavoury  natives  and  hastened  to 
ask  my  way  to  the  Consulate.  "  No,  you  must  first  go 
to  the  Abyssinian  Consul,"  said  a  man  in  the  street. 
I  was  for  taking  no  heed,  but  I  had  scarcely  reached 
the  middle  of  the  square  before  a  fat  man  in  a  dingy 
shamma  barred  my  way  and  took  hold  of  my  bridle. 
I  raised  my  whip  to  strike  him,  but  Abdi,  in  great 
alarm,  informed  me  that  this  was  a  hio^h  official,  and 
that  I  should  get  into  fearful  trouble.  Every  stranger 
before  going  anywhere  in  Harrar  must  visit  the  Garas- 
mach,  or  Acting  Governor,  whom  the  man  in  the 
street  had  translated  as  Abyssinian  Consul.  No  ;  I 
was  a  British  subject  and  meant  to  go  first  to  the 
British  Consul.     If  he  said  it  was  necessary,  I  would 


254 


ABYSSINIA 


see  the  Governor,  but  not  otherwise.  However,  by 
this  time  I  was  surrounded  by  about  fifty  gesticulating 
natives,  and  I  realised  that  I  should  only  waste  time 
by  further  resistance.  So  I  rode  into  the  Governor's 
courtyard,  which  I  hoped  was  a  great  insult,  and 
strutted  up  the  stairs  without  removing  my  helmet. 

A  number  of  officials  and  policemen,  all  wearing 
the  ordinary  dirty  shamma,  were  hanging  about  an 
open  doorway,  through  which  I  could  perceive  an  old 
man  sittinof  cross-leo^ored  on  a  divan.  The  official  said 
I  must  wait  until  the  Garasmach  had  finished  his 
business  and  was  ready  to  receive  me.  My  only 
ans\\  er  was  to  push  my  way  roughly  into  the  audience 
chamber  and  confront  the  old  man,  who  seemed 
greatly  surprised  by  my  intrusion.  His  divan  stood 
in  a  corner  upon  a  rich  carpet,  which  it  seemed  no  one 
was  permitted  to  cross  ;  indeed,  all  my  servants 
hastened  to  take  off  their  shoes  when  they  entered 
the  room.  I  stalked  straight  on  to  the  carpet 
with  my  dusty  boots,  came  close  up  to  the  Gara- 
smach, and  beo^an  a  loud  harano^ue  in  Eno^lish.  I 
was  a  British  subject,  and  protested  against  having 
been  interfered  with  on  my  way  to  the  British  Con- 
sulate. If  this  was  the  hospitality  which  Abyssinians 
showed  to  strangers,  thev  would  do  well  to  make  an 
exception  in  favour  of  Englishmen.  I  was  on  my 
way  to  the  Court  of  the  Emperor,  and  any  one  who 
interfered  with  me  did  so  at  his  peril.  .  .  . 

This  was  all  very  fine,  but  no  one  understood.  My 
Somalis  had  no  Amharic,  and  the  Abyssinians  there 
had  no  Somali.     However,  the  old  man  saw  that  I 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION 


255 


was  angry,  and,  learning  that  I  was  an  Englishman, 
waved  his  hand  to  show  that  I  need  not  be  detained, 
whereupon  I  strutted  out  without  any  pretence  at 
farewell. 

It  was  days  before  I  could  rescue  my  baggage 
from  the  custom-house.  The  officials  would  make 
appointments,  I  would  make  my  way  to  the  untidy 
courtyard  and  be  jostled  by  mulemen  and  merchants, 
only  to  learn  from  the  clerks  that  the  right  official 
was  absent.  This  happened  several  times,  and  my 
patience  was  more  than  exhaused.  At  last  I  found 
the  right  man,  and  he  coolly  invited  me  to  unpack  my 
forty-six  cases  on  the  filthy  pavement  in  the  midst  of 
a  dense  throng  of  unsavoury  peasants.  I  said  that 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  the  man  replied  that  in 
that  case  I  could  take  nothing  away.  So  I  went  off 
and  appealed  to  the  Consul,  and  he  very  kindly 
returned  with  me.  Knowing  exactly  how  to  manage 
Abyssinians,  he  smiled  and  wheedled  and  flattered 
them,  took  one  man  by  the  hand,  led  him  up  affec- 
tionately to  a  trunk,  and  lifted  up  a  corner  to  show 
that  there  was  no  merchandise.  For  his  sake  they 
consented  to  allow  me  to  take  away  my  necessaries, 
but  they  still  declared  that  all  my  caravan  kit  would 
have  to  be  opened  another  day.  The  good  Consul 
accompanied  me  on  three  successive  clays  to  the 
custom-house,  until  he  succeeded  in  catching  one  man 
in  a  good  humour,  and,  after  leading  him  about  by 
the  hand  for  over  half  an  hour  and  enumerating  the 
contents  of  each  package,  obtained  a  grudging 
permission  for  me  to  remove  m,y  possessions. 


236 


ABYSSINIA 


If  there  was  all  this  bother  to  enter  Harrar,  there 
was  almost  as  much  to  depart  again,  or  at  least 
there  would  have  been  but  for  the  assistance  of  the 
indefatigable  Consul.    A  passport  is  required  before 


z  />  /.  £  4  /;  '/  7  70 


I 


MY  ABYSSINIAN  TASSPORT. 


you  may  issue  from  the  gates,  and  other  passports 
are  exacted  at  two  custom-houses,  Lagahardim  and 
Choba,  on  the  way  up  to  the  capital. 

T  he  formalities  were  endless.   W  e  had  to  repeat  our 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  257 


information  at  least  a  dozen  times,  while  lazy  officials 
squatted  and  scribbled  very  deliberately,  holding  a  piece 
of  paper  in  the  palm  of  one  hand  and  inscribing  queer 
hieroglyphs  thereon.  During  the  conference  various 
natives  seemed  to  regard  the  Consul  and  me  as  strange 
beasts  provided  for  their  entertainment.  One  man 
came  and  grinned  in  my  face,  so  I  took  him  by  the 
shoulders  and  gently  but  firmly  pushed  him  away  out 
into  the  crowd.  Another  coolly  took  hold  of  my 
walking-stick  to  examine  it.  I  dug  him  playfully 
in  the  stomach  ;  still  he  did  not  desist.  I  shouted 
at  him  in  English  ;  all  in  vain.  At  length  I  had 
to  strike  him  on  the  side  of  his  shaven  head, 
whereupon  he  retired  amid  loud  laughter  from  the 
bystanders.  The  Consul  was  somewhat  perturbed, 
and  wanted  to  know  what  the  man's  offence  had  been. 
But  Atto  Joseph,  an  Abyssinian  official  of  deep  browm 
complexion,  remarked  cheerfully,  "All  right.  It  was 
a  negro!  One  mustn't  stop  to  argue  with  that  sort 
of  person." 

When  I  reached  the  town  gates  on  my  departure, 
two  or  three  crouching  men  looked  up  surlily  at  me 
and  demanded  my  passport.  As  I  did  not  want  the 
trouble  of  ransacking  my  pockets.  I  pretended  not  to 
understand  and  hurried  my  mule  forward.  Luckily 
they  were  too  lazy  to  get  up  and  worry  me.  But 
they  continued  shouting  until  I  was  well  out  of 
hearing. 

So  I  heard  nothing  more  of  custom-houses  until  I 
reached  Lagahardim,  one  of  the  chief  stages  on  the 
journey.     I  had  been  travelling"  over  more  or  less  flat 

S 


258 


ABYSSINIA 


country  for  a  long  time,  when  I  was  suddenly  con- 
fronted by  a  river  at  the  foot  of  a  lofty  and  precipi- 
tous mountain.  My  companions  pointed  upwards  to  a 
couple  of  little  summer-houses  perched  nearly  half-w^ay 
up.  These  were  the  telephone  station  and  custom- 
house, which  are  fortunately  always  close  to  each 
other  on  this  route.  When  I  had  camped,  I  sent 
one  of  my  men  up  to  take  my  passport  and  say- 
that  I  intended  to  pass  on  early  next  day.  Late  in 
the  evening  three  or  four  ragged  officials  came  down 
and  saluted  me  with  very  deep  bows.  They  said  that 
it  was  usual  for  travellers  to  have  their  luggage 
examined  up  on  the  hill  as  they  passed,  but  that,  as  a 
special  favour  to  me,  they  had  come  all  the  way  down 
to  my  camp.  This  was  an  obvious  hint  for  a  present, 
so  I  gave  them  a  few  dollars,  which  they  touched  with 
their  foreheads  and  then  secreted  in  some  mysterious 
pockets.  After  walking  round  m\'  baggage  and  asking 
various  foolish  questions,  they  demanded  a  further 
small  sum  as  duty  and  then  took  their  departure  with 
many  compliments. 

In  an  hour  or  so  two  of  them  emerged  again  out  of 
the  darkness  accompanied  by  an  unwieldy  form,  which 
I  could  not  at  first  distinguish. 

"  l^hev  brinof  a  cow,  sah'b,"  said  Abdi. 
A  cow  ?    What  for  ?  " 

"  They  say  you  their  father  and  their  mother,  and 
all  they  have  is  yours.     So  they  bring  this  cow\" 
But  what  am  I  to  do  with  a  cow  ?  " 

Abdi's  eyes  glistened.  We  eat  him  very  quick, 
sah'b,"  said  he, 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION  259 


By  this  time  the  two  men  had  led  an  enormous  ox 
up  into  the  fireHght.  It  stood  very  square,  Hke  a 
Spanish  bull  in  the  presence  of  the  espada,  and  I 
noticed  that  it  had  very  fine  horns. 

"  It  is  not  a  cow,"  I  said  to  Abdi. 

"  Yes,  sah'b,  a  cow.     He  very  fine  cow." 

"Well,  look  for  yourself,"  I  said  laughing,  and 
Reggel,  the  cook,  burst  into  a  hilarious  roar. 

Now  this  was  all  very  fine,  but  if  I  accepted  this 
beast  my  men  would  gorge  themselves  so  fright- 
fully that  they  would  not  be  fit  to  travel  for  weeks. 
Besides,  I  should  be  expected  to  give  at  least  a  gun  in 
exchange  for  so  handsome  a  present.  So  I  told  the 
two  officials  that  I  was  touched  by  their  kindness, 
but  that  we  were  ofT  too  soon  to  have  time  to  eat  an 
ox  before  we  went.  Would  they  do  me  the  favour  of 
drinking  a  glass  of  whiskey  ? 

They  were  pleased  to  do  me  that  favour,  but  they 
assured  me  that  I  was  a  very  big  chief,  and  that  it 
would  be  a  great  affront  to  them  if  I  sent  back  their 
present.  They  would  not  be  able  to  hold  up  their 
heads  again  in  the  village,  and  everybody  would  point 
at  them  as  they  passed.  From  the  merry  twinkle  in 
their  eyes  as  they  said  this  I  could  see  that  they  were 
bent  upon  making  a  deal,  and  I  felt  that  I  was  in  a 
dilemma.  However,  after  plying  them  with  whiskey, 
I  persuaded  them  to  consider  the  ox  as  accepted  by 
me.  Then,  if  they  would  keep  it  for  me,  and  I  had 
more  time  on  my  return  journey,  we  would  kill  it 
and  make  very  merry  together,  drinking  so  much 
whiskey  that  none  of  us  should  be  able  to  stand. 


260 


ABYSSINIA 


They  saw  at  once  that  this  meant  there  was  no  deal, 
but  my  refusal  agreed  with  their  own  ideas  of  diplo- 
macy, so  they  went  off  good-humouredly,  assuring 
me  that  the  ox  was  now  mine,  and  that,  if  they 
died  before  my  return,  their  heirs  and  successors 
would  keep  it  for  me. 

I  am  told  that  I  was  unusually  fortunate  in  escaping 
exactions  both  here  and  at  Choba,  the  next  custom- 
house, where  I  got  off  for  a  small  fee  and  half  an 
hour's  delay  by  the  roadside.  The  people  at  Laga- 
hardim  took  my  passport  from  Harrar  and  gave  me 
another  for  Choba,  where  this  was  exchanged  for 
another  to  be  given  up  at  Addis  Ababa.  There, 
being  unable  to  discern  a  town  on  my  arrival,  I 
was  fortunately  not  discerned  by  any  officials,  and 
accordingly  escaped  any  further  formalities  for  the 
moment. 

I  was  assured  that  no  passports  were  necessary 
for  the  return  journey — not  even  the  little  scraps  of 
paper  with  seals  and  hieroglyphics  which  I  had 
been  obliged  to  produce  on  the  way  up.  But  as 
I  drew  near  to  the  police  station  and  custom-house 
of  Choba  I  passed  a  man  with  a  gun,  who  volun- 
teered the  information  to  my  servants  that  I  had  no 
passport,  and  that  1  should  certainly  not  be  allowed 
to  proceed  any  further.  Accordingly  I  hurried  on  to 
undero'o  the  inevitable  discussion  with  the  officials 
before  my  caravan  arrived,  so  as  to  reduce  the  delay. 
My  spirits  rose  at  the  prospect  of  a  row,  which  would 
at  least  be  a  change  for  me,  and  perhaps  provide  an 
experience  worth  recording.     If  the  worst  came  to 


ABYSSIXIAX  ADMINISTRATION  261 


the  worst,  there  was  always  the  telephone  at  Choba, 
and  I  could  ring  up  Captain  Harrington. 

The  custom-house  is  perched  on  the  top  of  a  very 
steep  hill,  which  dominates  the  road.  There  is  an 
extraordinary  sort  of  big  bird's-nest  standing  on  three 
wooden  legs  at  the  very  edge  of  the  precipice.  This 
is  used  as  a  look-out  place,  to  prevent  any  one  from 


CHOBA  CUSTOM-HOUSE,  LOOK-OUT  NEST. 


stealing  by  without  paying  toll  and  exhibiting  pass- 
ports. At  the  foot  of  the  hill  are  a  long  zareba 
of  brambles,  which  people  can  only  pass  in  single 
file,  and  additional  tufts  of  brambles  to  close  up  the 
road  entirely  in  case  of  need.  I  scrambled  up  the 
hill  and  made  my  way  to  the  police  station,  som^e 
thirty  yards  behind  the  human  bird's-nest.  Several 


262 


ABYSSINIA 


dirty  men  came  out  of  the  telephone  hut  and  gaped 
at  me. 

I  opened  the  ball  by  producing  my  flask  and  doling 
out  whiskey  all  round.  Then  I  mentioned  casually 
that  my  caravan  would  be  passing  presently.  They 
asked  for  my  passport  and  said  no  one  could  go 
throuorh  without  one  :  I  must  wait  an  hour  or  so 
while  they  telephoned  about  me  to  Addis  Ababa. 
So  I  went  into  the  hut  and  ate  my  lunch  while  they 
screamed  away  in  their  shrill  voices,  making  all  sorts 
of  hopeless  efforts  to  pronounce  my  name  through 
the  telephone.  Foofooan  and  Fifine  were  their 
nearest  approaches,  and  each  man  was  very  zealous 
to  correct  his  neighbour.  At  last,  as  I  was  finishino- 
my  lunch,  the  answer  came  that  I  had  better  com- 
municate with  Captain  Harrington.  As,  however,  he 
lives  nearly  three  hours'  journey  away  from  the  call- 
office  at  Addis  Ababa,  I  tried  to  send  a  message  to 
the  Swiss  postmaster,  but  after  much  discussion  I 
was  told  he  was  absent. 

Then  I  informed  the  officials  for  about  the  fourth 
time  that  Menelik  had  offered  me  a  special  pass,  but 
that  it  had  been  pronounced  unnecessary.  I  backed 
up  my  suggestion  that  they  might  allow  me  to  depart 
by  distributing  cigarettes  all  round.  Everybody 
seemed  very  anxious  to  disclaim  responsibility  for 
detaining  me,  and  it  was  pointed  out  to  me  that  the 
decision  lay  with  the  head  policeman,  a  ragged,  filthy, 
wall-eyed  individual,  clad  in  a  bit  of  sacking  and  a 
cartridge  belt,  and  carrying  a  gun  apparently  per- 
manently over  his  shoulder.    At  this  moment  news 


ABYSSINIAN  ADMINISTRATION 


263 


came  from  the  bird's-nest  that  my  caravan  was  pass- 
ing through  the  zareba  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  I 
followed  the  head  policeman  out  and  found  him  shout- 
ing to  them  to  stop.  I  shouted  to  them  to  go  on. 
Then  I  told  the  man  that  he  would  get  into  serious 
trouble  if  he  stopped  me,  and  that  he  must  bear  in 
mind  w^hat  a  very  different  thing  it  was  to  interfere 
with  an  Englishman  and  to  bully  a  mere  Frenchman 
or  Greek.  He  said  he  could  not  go  against  his 
orders,  but  I  saw  he  was  wavering,  so  I  took  out 
some  dollars  and  offered  them  to  him.  He  made  a 
fine  gesture  of  incorruptibility,  but  w^hen  I  came  out 
with  my  next  argument,  that  I  could  always  be 
stopped  at  Lagahardim,  the  next  custom-house,  he 
succumbed.  Then  he  took  one  of  my  men  aside  and 
intimated  that  he  w^ould  like  bakshish,  but  that  he 
could  not  accept  it  before  the  others.  Then  the 
telephone  men  came  up  separately  to  crave  bakshish, 
and  I  was  allowed  to  depart. 

As  I  approached  Lagahardim  I  remembered  that 
the  officials  there  were  the  good  friends  who  had 
made  me  a  present  of  an  ox,  so  I  flattered  myself 
that  unless  they  bore  malice  for  my  refusal  of  it  they 
would  deal  leniently  with  my  lack  of  a  passport.  How- 
ever, next  morning  a  message  came — "  Unless  you 
are  Menelik  or  Ras  Makonrien  you  cannot  go  by 
without  a  pass."  However,  I  consulted  with  a  Greek 
at  the  telephone  station,  and  he  agreed  with  me  that 
I  had  better  go  on  and  see  whether  the  men  would 
attempt  to  stop  me.  There  was  no  sign  of  them 
until,  at  the  last  moment,  up  came  the  very  man 


264 


ABYSSINIA 


who  had  o^iven  me  the  ox.  I  hastened  to  offer 
him  whiskey,  and  he  grinned  very  amiably  at  me, 
asking-  when  I  should  be  ready  to  take  over  my  ox. 
"Ah,"  I  exclaimed,  "what  a  pity  that  you  did  not 
bring-  it  last  night.  Then  we  would  have  had  a  fine 
carouse.  Now^  alas  !  I  am  on  the  brink  of  departure, 
and  it  is  too  late."  Then  he  began  to  say  something 
about  my  passport,  but  I  hastened  to  change  the 
subject  and  give  him  dollars  and  more  whiskey.  At 
last  he  became  so  friendlv  that  he  insisted  on  making 
me  a  present  of  his  hippopotamus-hide  whip,  and  I 
heard  nothing  more  about  any  objection  to  my 
departure. 

My  last  brush  with  black  officialdom  was  at 
Gildessa,  where  His  Excellency  the  Village  Governor 
had  been  so  affable  on  my  way  up.  After  having 
been  delayed  a  night  by  the  sudden  arrival  of  a  rush- 
ino-  mio'htv  river,  I  set  out  somewhat  late  with  mv 
sodden  caravan.  Assured  that  there  were  no  for- 
malities to  be  imposed  by  the  customs,  I  rode  on 
ahead  through  shrubberies  of  mimosa,  in  an  atmos- 
phere heavy  with  scent.  The  police  turned  out  to 
fire  a  salute  with  ball-cartridge,  and  expressed  grati- 
tude for  the  inevitable  bakshish. 

I  had  ridden  for  forty  minutes,  and  was  just  con- 
gratulating myself  on  the  promise  of  a  long  march, 
when  I  was  stopped  by  two  policemen,  who  had  come 
running  after  me  to  say  that  my  camels  were  detained 
and  that  I  must  return.  I  refused  angrily,  and 
threatened  o-reat  trouble  if  the  caravan  were  not 
immediately  released.     One  policeman  returned  with 


ABYSSINIAN   ADMINISTRATION  265 


my  message  ;  the  other  stayed  on  to  see  that  I  did 
not  attempt  to  proceed  further.  Presently  some 
Abyssinians  came  up  and  advised  me  to  return,  say- 
ing that  my  caravan  would  certainly  not  be  allowed  to 
pass  until  I  did  so.  But  I  was  not  going  to  add 
eighty  unnecessary  minutes  to  my  march  if  I  could 
help  it,  besides  which  I  foresaw  that,  if  I  did  return,  I 
should  probably  come  to  blows  with  His  Excellency 
the  Village  Governor,  which  might  have  serious  con- 
sequences. So  I  despatched  the  Pilgrim  with  instruc- 
tions to  pay  whatever  bakshish  might  be  demanded. 
When  he  reached  Gildessa  he  found  that  Abdi  had 
just  succeeded  in  buying  off  the  caravan.  But  the 
result  was  that  we  camped  for  lunch  that  day  at  Arto 
instead  of  at  the  next  stage,  and  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  another  river  detained  me  there  all  night. 

For  a  greedy,  ill-conditioned  rascal  commend  me  to 
an  Abyssinian  official. 


Chapter  X 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Epiphany — Raising  an  Altar — The  Kalendar — Christmas  at 
the  Capital — Christmas  Dinners — Coptic  Monks — Suspicion 
of  Foreigners — A  Monastery — Harrar  Cathedral — S.  Mary's, 
Entotto — Ecclesiastical  Art  —Bargaining  for  Admission — Church 
Books — A  Church  Service — The  Dance  of  the  Priests — Rattles. 

The  enemies  of  the  old  world  condemn  Abyssinian 
Christianity  as  a  medley  of  grotesque  savage  practices 
attempting  to  reconcile  themselves  with  the  Orthodox 
ritual.  They  see  nothing  pious  in  the  dances  of  the 
priests  before  the  ark  and  seem  to  forget  that  such 
practices  were  applauded  in  the  days  of  so  Protestant 
a  monarch  as  King  David.  They  discern  nothing 
picturesque  in  those  wild  festivals  known  as  maskals 
(Holy  Cross  Days),  celebrated  with  fantasias,  junket- 
ings, and  a  large  consumption  of  raw  meat. 

I  shall  probably  make  a  better  defence  of  the  Coptic 
use  by  not  attempting  to  argue,  but  merely  relating 
what  ceremonies  I  observed  for  myself. 

On  the  morning  of  the  Abyssinian  Epiphany  I  was 
awaked  by  a  strange  piping  song,  a  wail  on  little  more 
than  one  note,  accompanied  by  a  one-stringed  musical 
instrument  not  unlike  the  ancient  lyre.     I  looked  out 

and  espied  a  bald-headed  young  bard  twanging  away 

266 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


267 


at  his  instrument,  while  a  younger  companion  stood 
on  one  leg  and  chaunted  interminably. 

We  were  camping  beside  a  pleasant  stream  at  a 
place  called  Shonkora,  some  distance  from  a  village, 
and  I  was  puzzled  by  the  large  number  of  peasants 
who  presently  made  their  appearance  in  the  early 
hours  of  the  morning.  I  tried  to  account  for  it  by 
the  fact  that  here  was  the  nearest  water  to  the  village 
of  Balchi.  some  three  miles  away,  and  that  every  drop 
its  inhabitants  require  must  be  fetched  and  carried 
hence.  But  besides  water  -  carriers  with  their 
bright  brass  cans,  there  were  many  Abyssinians  en- 
o'aCTed  in  washinof  themselves  and  their  clothes,  so 
unusual  an  operation  that  it  must  betoken  a  high 
dav  of  some  sort.  Others  were  loimcrinof  about  and 
squatting  among  the  rocks  like  great  white  birds. 
Others  carried  fowls  or  eggs  or  loaves  of  bread,  as 
though  for  a  market.  There  seemed  a  holidav  feelino- 
in  the  air  ;  all  grinned  amiably  as  they  passed  me,  and 
manv  saluted  me  bv  kissing  their  hands  and  touchinor 
the  o^round. 

Presentlv  I  noticed  an  old  man  who  was  ensraofed 
upon  some  mysterious  occupation  beside  the  stream, 
runninor  to  and  fro  and  bendina-  down  laboriouslv 
from  time  to  time.  In  his  hand  was  a  lonsr  flv- 
whisk  and  a  crutch,  both  of  which  are  regarded  as 
insignia  of  the  priestly  office.  He  wore  a  kind  of 
pointed  turban  on  his  head  and  a  string  of  leathern 
amulets  round  his  neck.  I  hurried  out  to  see  what 
he  would  be  at,  and  found  that  he  and  two  men  were 
busy  gathering  together  the  biggest  stones  they  could 


268 


ABYSSINIA 


carry  to  construct  a  circular  altar  in  honour  of  the 
Epiphany.  Here  in  the  afternoon  a  large  cross  would 
be  planted  in  the  centre,  that  priests  and  people 
might  dance  and  sing  hymns.  I  was  afraid  that 
his  Reverence  might  resent  my  curiosity,  so  I  took 
great  precautions  to  prevent  him  from  realising  that  I 
was  photographing  him.     But  he  smiled  so  amiably 


i 

L 


RAISING  AX  ALTAR. 

that  I  came  up  to  watch  him  and  put  some  ques- 
tions. He  told  me  that  always,  so  far  as  anybody 
in  the  country  knew,  the  priest  had  set  up  an  altar 
there  on  the  morning  of  the  Epiphany.  As  he  talked 
he  went  on  plodding  away  after  his  stones,  and 
he  remarked  presently  that,  if  God  had  granted  him 
to  be  a  younger  man,  he  would  have  been  able  to 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


269 


carry  much  bigger  stones.  This  suggested  my  help- 
ing him,  so  I  ran  about  for  a  few  minutes  picking  up 
stones  and  bringing  them  up  to  him  for  the  con- 
struction of  his  altar.  This  seemed  to  delight  him 
vastly,  and  when  I  started  off  again  on  my 
journey  he  insisted  on  accompanying  me  for  some 
twenty  yards,  and  wished  me  a  good  journey,  raising 
his  hand  and  invokinof  the  name  of  God. 

I  had  counted  very  much  on  reaching  the  capital  in 
time  for  the  Christmas  festivities,  w^hich  are  among 
the  most  elaborate  in  the  Abyssinian  year.  This 
was,  however,  impossible,  owing  to  cantankerous 
mulemen,  and  partly,  I  must  confess,  to  my  failure 
in  ascertaining  the  precise  date  of  Christmas  Day. 
Every  book  I  have  read  about  Abyssinia  and  every 
resident  I  have  questioned  has  a  different  theory  about 
the  Kalendar.  My  first  impression  was  that  the 
Abyssinians,  like  the  Orthodox  Church,  w^re  always 
twelve  days  behind  us.  This  was  corroborated  by 
certain  dates  which  I  verified.  Then  I  read  in  Count 
Gleichen's  book  that  they  were  seven  days  behind, 
and  this  he  corroborated  with  certain  dates.  \"arious 
other  theories  were  supported  in  a  similar  way,  and  at 
last  I  began  to  despair  of  unearthing  the  truth. 

Now  I  have  been  told  by  an  Abyssinian  what  I 
believe  is  the  right  explanation.  Each  of  the  Abys- 
sinian months  has  precisely  thirty  days,  and  at  the 
end  of  each  year  there  are  some  extra  days  which  do 
not  belong  to  any  particular  month.  The  consequence 
is  that  the  difference  between  our  kalendar  and  theirs 
expands  whenever  we  reach  the  end  of  one  of  our 


270 


ABYSSINIA 


months  with  thirty-one  days.  Moreover,  their  months 
and  ours  do  not  begin  simultaneously,  so  much  mental 
arithmetic  is  necessary  to  determine  any  given  date. 

Though  I  was  not  so  fortunate  as  to  reach  Addis 
Ababa  in  time  for  Christmas,  I  heard  full  details  of 
the  festivities  from  those  who  were.  The  most  in- 
teresting feature  seems  to  have  been  the  dance  of 
priests  in  the  presence  of  the  Emperor.    The  vest- 


CHRISTMAS  AT  ADUIS  ABAHA. 
(PliotograJ'li  by  Captain  Powell-Cottox.) 


ments  were  very  gorgeous,  including  yellow  and 
purple  brocaded  velvets  richly  embroidered,  and  green 
or  yellow  silk  coats.  All  the  most  magnificent  crutches 
were  brought  out,  incense  was  swung  from  copper 
censers,  and  graceful  crosses  of  pierced  .metal-work 
were  displayed.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  part  of 
the  spectacle  was  the  forest  of  umbrellas,  green, 
blue,  red,  purple,  and  black,  which  the  priests  put 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


271 


up  rather  as  a  part  of  a  ceremonial  display  than 
to  keep  off  the  tropical  sun.  The  Emperor,  the  two 
Archbishops  and  Captain  Harrington  were  alone 
seated  while  the  dance  was  in  progress.  It  was  quiet 
and  stately,  a  sort  of  quadrille  figure  and  minuet  step. 
The  priests  advanced  in  two  sections,  the  first  of 
which  bowed  to  the  Sovereign  and  withdrew  to  a  certain 
distance  ;  the  second  section  did  the  same,  and  the 


mexelik's  guard  outside  tukul  where  priests  are  dancing. 
{Photojimfih  by  Captaix  Powell-Coitox.) 


figure  was  re-formed.  Two  rows  faced  each  other, 
with  a  couple  of  priests  at  each  end  to  form  a  square, 
then  set  to  partners  and  right  about  turn.  In  fact  it 
was  not  unlike  the  famous  dance  of  the  choir-boys  in 
Seville  Cathedral,  with  their  plumes  and  castanets. 
Both  dances  may  have  had  a  similar  origin. 

When  Menelik  had  had  enough  of  the  performance 
he  sent  word  to  the  priests  and  bade  them  stop,  much 


2/2 


ABYSSINIA 


as  I  remember  Prince  Ferdinand  doing  when  a  pope 
went  on  preaching-  too  long  before  him  in  a  Bul- 
garian Church.  The  priests  leading  the  way,  Menelik 
followed  on  his  gorgeously  caparisoned  mule  to  the 
banqueting  hall  in  the  Palace.  There  were  two 
dinners  that  day  for  relays  of  five  thousand  people. 
Oxen  are  killed  outside  and  brought  in  with  the  flesh 


MENELIK  keeping  '  CHRISTMAS. 
(He  is  in  the  centre  beyond  the  mound  of  hay.) 
(Pliohi^rnpli     Captain  Powell-Cottox.) 


still  quivering.  There  are  no  tables,  but  the  feasters 
squat  about  on  the  floor  in  groups.  The  servants 
hold  out  a  joint  of  raw  meat  to  each  group,  whereupon 
everybody  draws  his  sword  or  dagger  and  slices  off 
a  piece,  exhibiting  himself  as  an  expert  and  amazingly 
rapid  carver.  The  eating  of  the  raw  meat  is  done 
very  daintily.  The  whole  piece  is  held  in  the  hand 
and  raised  to  the  mouth,  when  the  sword  or  dagger  is 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


273 


used  to  slice  off  a  mouthful  quite  close  to  the  lips. 
As  this  is  done  with  quite  a  majestic  wave  of  the 
weapon,  the  wonder  is  that  no  one  slices  off  his  nose. 
An  Englishman  who  was  present  told  me  that  the 
whole  operation  was  not  at  all  unpleasant  to  see  or 
smell,  as  might  be  imagined,  at  close  quarters. 

I  wonder  why  we  always  take  so  great  an  interest 
in  monks.  For  my  part,  I  always  feel  an  intense 
curiosity  to  study  their  lives,  habits,  and  modes  of 
thought.  It  seems  to  me  that  people  who  voluntarily 
sever  themselves  from  the  world  and  give  themselves 
over  to  a  contemplative  life,  must  be  able  to  solve 
mysteries  which  are  hidden  from  everybody  else,  and 
develop  a  character  unique  in  its  way. 

One  of  the  strangest  studies  in  the  way  of  character 
was  afforded  me  by  a  Coptic  monk,  who  used  some- 
times to  stroll  into  the  billiard-room  of  the  Lion"  at 
Harrar.  Most  people  were  agreed  that  he  was  a  spy 
in  the  service  of  the  Government,  but  as  that  is  said 
of  nearly  every  intelligent  Abyssinian,  it  would  be 
unfair  to  lay  too  much  stress  upon  the  suggestion  in 
his  case.  I  am  told  that  everything  which  anybody, 
more  particularly  a  foreigner,  does  is  reported,  down 
to  the  minutest  details,  to  the  various  authorities, 
whether  police,  political,  judicial,  or  commercial.  As 
very  few  Abyssinians  understand  a  word  of  European 
languages,  they  must  have  recourse  to  guess-work,  in 
which  they  are  said  to  be  extraordinarily  clever. 
Whether  or  no  my  friend  the  monk  was  a  spy,  there 
is  no  doubt  about  it  that  he  always  knew  by  intuition 
pretty  well  what  was  being  said  in  French  or  English. 

T 


ABYSSINIA 


He  is  a  marvellous  mimic,  and  one  day  when  he  had 
been  taking  off  the  Swiss  postmaster,  to  everybody's 
delight,  some  one  made  a  remark  in  French.  The 
monk  looked  up  and  remarked,  "  I  know  exactly 
what  that  man  said."  "  Well,  what  was  it?  "  "  This 
is  what  he  said  :  '  I  know  the  monk  will  be  taking  me 
off  too  directly  my  back  is  turned.'  "    And  so  it  was. 

The  monk  is  a  gaunt,  emaciated  man,  with  a  dry, 
humorous  face,  surmounted  by  a  white  turban  shaped 
like  an  Orthodox  pope's  hat.  He  is  always  playing 
with  a  large  rosary,  composed  for  the  most  part  of  big 
\^enetian  glass  beads.  He  says  very  little,  but  watches 
everybody's  face  very  keenly,  particularly  when  they 
are  speaking.  After  all,  if  a  dog  contrives  to  under- 
stand a  great  deal  of  what  we  say  without  learning  our 
language,  why  should  not  an  Abyssinian  do  so  ?  As 
to  this  man,  even  those  who  are  most  persistent  in 
accusing  him  of  being  a  spy  admit  that  he  is  con- 
scientious, and  that  he  reports  everything  truly  to  the 
best  of  his  ability.  Like  all  Abyssinians,  he  is  very 
greedy  of  money,  but  curiously  enough  he  does  not 
want  it  for  himself.  Evervthinor  he  receives,  and  I 
am  told  this  often  includes  laro^e  sums,  is  handed 
on  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  He  starves  and 
pinches  himself  almost  beyond  belief,  and  he  has  never 
been  known  to  refuse  a  request  for  anything  he  may 
possess.  As  he  remarked  to  a  Frenchman  one  day, 
he  considers  that  anything  he  acquires  is  merely  held 
in  trust  for  those  who  may  happen  to  need  it. 

My  great  difficulty  in  getting  to  see  or  know  any- 
thing about  the  religious  side  of  Abyssinia  lay  in  the 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


275 


fact  that  with  one  exception  all  my  servants  were 
Muhammadans,  and  that  there  is  a  strong  jealousy  of 
the  alien  religion  throughout  the  country.  Indeed  the 
Abyssinians  believe  that  they  are  the  only  Christians 
in  the  w^orld,  and  they  are  just  as  incredulous  about 
the  possibility  of  our  being  co-religionists  as  an 
inhabitant  of  Mecca  or  of  a  villao^e  in  the  interior  of 
China  mio^ht  be. 

I  remember  one  day  when  I  had  with  great  diffi- 
culty, and  with  the  expenditure  of  many  silver  coins, 
obtained  admission  to  a  Coptic  church  near  the  capital, 
my  friends  and  I  were  trying  to  make  out  for  what 
saints  the  various  rough  frescoes  were  intended.  This 
was  obviously  S.  Sebastian,  that  must  be  S.  George, 
and  there  was  S.  Peter  with  his  keys.  The  men  who 
were  showing  us  round  looked  extremely  astonished, 
and  began  whispering  to  each  other.  Presently  one 
of  them  came  up  and  asked  through  the  interpreter 
how  we  could  possibly  know  the  names  of  their  saints, 
seeing  that  we  were  certainly  not  Christians.  I  took 
to  wearing  a  large  gilt  Abyssinian  cross,  but  this  had 
very  little  real  effect  in  convincing  people,  for  they 
assumed  that  I  had  merely  bought  it  as  a  curiosity. 

A  few  days  before  I  reached  the  capital,  I  was 
lunching  under  the  shade  of  a  candelabra  cactus,  when 
the  Pilgrim  came  up  and  told  me  that  he  had  just  been 
driven  away  with  threats  from  the  entrance  to  a 
monastery.  This  aroused  my  curiosity,  and  I  sent 
Abdi  to  ask  whether  I  mioht  be  admitted  to  visit  it. 
Before  he  could  get  near  to  the  entrance,  the  monks 
greeted  him  with  loud  cries  of  "  Go  away,  go  away. 


2/6 


ABYSSINIA 


you  are  not  a  Christian  !  "  He  explained  that  I  was, 
and  that  I  wanted  to  come  in,  but  they  only  derided 
him  and  bade  him  be  off.  So  then  I  sent  my  one 
Christian  servant  to  talk  to  them  again,  and  when  he 
mentioned  that  I  was  an  Eng'lishman,  they  waiv^ed 
their  objections.  We  wound  our  way  among  shrubs 
and  entered  a  roofless,  half-ruined  amphitheatre, 
some  fifteen  feet  in  diameter.  Inside  this,  huddled 
near  the  wall,  were  some  twenty  men  and  boys,  most 
of  them  bare-headed  and  the  rest  with  tattered  hand- 
kerchiefs wrapped  round  their  skulls.  Beyond  was 
one  of  the  usual  round  huts,  made  of  sticks  and  a 
thatched  summer-house  roof  The  people  in  the 
amphitheatre  rose  reluctantly  as  I  approached,  and  one 
man  shook  hands  with  me  without  enthusiasm.  Then 
we  passed  through  to  the  hut,  and  the  man  who  had 
shaken  hands  with  me  pointed  to  the  door,  saying  half 
triumphantly,  "You  see  it  is  locked." 
But  can't  I  m  in  ?  " 

A  consultation  went  on  as  to  whether  I  was  a 
Christian,  and  after  a  good  deal  of  hesitation,  they 
accepted  with  some  reluctance  the  evidence  of  the 
cross  on  my  watch-chain.  Then  they  opened  the  door, 
made  me  pass  in  and  stood  watching  to  see  how  I 
should  behave,  most  of  them  crowding  the  doorway, 
others  gaping  through  little  windows. 

Three-quarters  of  the  inside  of  the  hut  was  taken 
up  with  a  sort  of  sanctuary,  made  of  stout  sticks 
closely  bound  together  and  stretching  right  up  to  the 
roof.  In  front  was  a  long  piece  of  chintz,  which  may 
have  concealed  a  doorway.   Outside  this  was  an  altar- 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


277 


rail  of  irregular  sticks,  and  a  semicircle  of  wood,  which 
I  suppose  was  intended  for  kneeling  communicants. 
Against  the  rails  were  several  long  crutches,  which  in 
my  ignorance  I  imagined  had  been  contributed  by 
lame  people,  to  whom  the  saint  of  the  place  had 
restored  the  use  of  their  legs.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  these  were  merely  the  crutches  which  every 
priest  uses  in  the  ritual  of  the  dance.  On  the  floor 
several  drums  lay  about  haphazard.  They  were  of 
cylindrical  shape,  some  two  feet  long  and  perhaps  nine 
inches  in  diameter.  Hanging  from  the  ceiling  by  long 
strings  were  a  shrivelled  stuffed  bird  and  some  small 
bundles  of  wood  resembling  firelighters.  Here  the 
inconvenience  of  having  Muhammadan  servants  came 
in.  I  asked  what  these  things  meant.  Abdi  trans- 
lated my  inquiry  and  received  an  answer,  whereupon 
all  my  men  exploded  into  loud  peals  of  laughter. 
"  Don't  be  such  idiots,"  I  said.  ''If  you  laugh  like  that 
they  won't  tell  us  anything,  and  I  want  to  find  out 
what  those  things  mean."  But  it  was  a  long  time 
before  they  could  recover  their  gravity.  At  last  Abdi 
pulled  himself  together  and  blurted  out  between  two 
wild  peals  of  merriment,  "He  say  those  his  God. 
Ha !  ha  !  ha !  "  This  sort  of  conduct  was  scarcely 
likely  to  conciliate  the  confidence  of  people  who  were 
already  somewhat  suspicious  of  a  stranger,  and  it  was 
not  surprising  that  my  hosts  began  to  display  signs  of 
annoyance.  Indeed  after  this  it  seemed  useless  to 
attempt  to  put  any  more  questions.  However,  when 
I  had  distributed  some  money,  I  seemed  to  be  received 
back  again  into  comparative  favour,  though  my  men 


2/8 


ABYSSINIA 


roared  with  laughter  as  they  translated  the  compli- 
ments and  thanks.  "  They  say  you  their  father  and 
mother  and  all  their  relations.  They  say  they  hope 
their  God  you  travel  all  right.     Ha  I  ha  !  ha  !  " 

As  I  was  departing  one  of  the  chief  monks  came 
and  presented  me  with  a  big  flat  spongy  brown  loaf 
which  tasted  rather  good  ;  but  here  my  servants'  bad 
manners  became  offensive  again — they  pointed  con- 
temptuously at  the  offering  and  emitted  peal  after  peal 
of  raucous  laughter  over  it.  Really  the  Somali  sense 
of  humour  is  sometimes  a  bit  too  acute. 

The  only  real  information  I  gleaned  was  that  the 
object  of  the  monastery  is  to  feed  and  house  poor 
people.  For  this  purpose  there  were  a  number  of  huts 
among  the  trees  in  the  background,  and  I  noticed  a 
variety  of  cripples,  who  hobbled  about  on  all  fours, 
cravinof  for  alms. 

]\Iy  first  visit  to  an  Abyssinian  place  of  worship  was 
at  Harrar,  \\here  I  visited  a  circular  cathedral.  It 
stands  on  one  side  of  the  great  square  facing  the  gate 
of  Ras  Makonnen's  palace  with  its  row  of  elephants' 
tails.  The  porch  is  of  the  dirty  stone  and  mud  archi- 
tecture, and  looks  like  a  large  hut,  concealing  the  fact 
that  there  is  a  cathedral  within.  From  this  porch  a 
wall  starts  in  either  direction  and  gives  the  im- 
pression that  there  is  no  possibility  of  thorough- 
fare. However,  I  penetrated  into  the  porch,  and 
made  my  way  into  a  circular  courtyard,  which  was 
grass-grown  and  impressed  me  as  being  very  ill-kept. 
Here  was  the  cathedral,  Hanked  by  steep,  irregular 
steps,  covered  by  a  variety  of  weeds.    Climbing  up,  I 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY  279 


was  confronted  by  a  thick  whitewashed  wall  with  large 
window-openings  at  short  intervals  and  some  wooden 
doors  with  faded  paintings  and  rude  mosaics.  The 
embrasures  of  the  windows  were  ornamented  with 
mediaeval  paintings  of  the  saints,  suggestive  of  the  art 
of  a  schoolboy,  and  I  noticed  that  most  of  the  pictures 
had  merely  been  drawn  in  charcoal  as  if  with  the  idea 
of  completing  them  at  some  future  date.  I  walked  all 
round  the  top  step,  still  outside  the  cathedral,  and 
noticed,  crouching  by  the  courtyard  wall,  a  man 
immersed  in  a  briorht  brown  leather  book.  He  was 
squatting  on  the  ground  all  huddled  up  like  a  bag  of 
old  clothes.  Presently  he  looked  up  and  seemed 
slightly  annoyed  by  my  presence.  I  went  on  round, 
and  was  admitted  throuQrh  the  doors,  where  I  was  con- 
fronted  by  another  circular  wall,  provided  with  more 
doors,  but  this  time  with  no  windows.  This  wall  was 
painted  with  some  surprising  leopards  and  lions,  and  a 
rather  graceful  kind  of  flower-pot  design,  which  re- 
minded me  of  the  art  of  the  Arabs  in  Tunisia.  Then 
I  was  told  that  the  custodians  refused  to  allow  me  to 
penetrate  any  further  that  day.  I  came  again  and 
again,  but  there  was  always  some  excuse  to  prevent 
my  seeing  any  more.  Strict  orders  had  been  given 
that  the  cathedral  should  not  be  visited  except  during 
the  hours  of  service,  lest  it  should  be  desecrated 
by  attempts  at  photography.  Bribes  and  threats 
were  alike  in  vain,  and  eventually  I  went  away 
without  seeing  the  cathedral  of  Harrar,  where  I 
understand  there  is  really  nothing  to  see.  I  confess 
I  should  have  liked  to  obtain  some  copies   of  the 


28o 


ABYSSINIA 


leopards  and  lions  and  flower-pots,  and  I  found  a 
clever  Russian  artist,  who  promised  to  copy  them  for 
me  in  water-colours  before  I  returned.  But  the 
Abyssinians  were  too  many  for  him,  and  he  never 
succeeded  in  obtaining  permission. 

At  Entotto  I  obtained  admission  to  two  churches, 
which  in  the  days  of  the  old  capital  were  very 
flourishing  but  are  now  rarely  visited  except  on  certain 
saints'  days.  They  are  perched  on  two  extremities  of 
a  steep  mountain,  a  mile  or  so  apart,  and  afford  a  land- 
mark for  a  great  distance  away.  My  first  pilgrimage 
was  to  the  church  of  ^laryam,  or  the  Blessed  V^irgin. 
The  Abyssinians  who  were  with  me  hastened  to  kiss 
the  floor-beam  and  side-posts  or  lintels  of  the  door  in 
the  outer  wall.  Then  we  stepped  into  a  long  rough 
porch  or  hut,  which  was  thick  in  dust  and  dirt.  On 
some  niches  at  the  side  I  noticed  what  looked  like 
large  beer-glasses,  which  are  probably  used  for 
bumpers  of  the  national  tej  (mead).  We  passed 
through  into  the  outer  courtyard,  broad  and  round, 
very  untidy,  with  irregular  stones  and  plenty  of 
rubbish.  Rough,  ill-kept,  grass-grown  steps  led  up  to 
the  church  itself  This  possessed  a  fine  newly  thatched 
roof  but  most  of  the  little  windows  had  the  glass 
broken  or  entirely  out.  As  usual  the  church  consisted 
of  a  square  holy  of  holies  in  the  centre  and  a  passage 
all  round  it  for  the  worshippers.  The  holy  of  holies 
is  for  the  priests  alone,  and  is  covered  outside  with 
paintings  in  vivid  colours.  Some  of  them  were 
of  the  modern  Italian  school,  while  others  were  an 
attempt  at  this  with  the  limitations  of  Abyssinian 
drawing  and  perspective. 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


281 


The  most  interesting  were  the  really  characteristic 
Abyssinian  works  of  art.  Both  here  and  in  the  other 
church  of  Entotto  the  favourite  subjects  were  martyr- 
dom on  earth  and  torture  in  hell.  Here  was  S.  John  the 
Baptist  having  his  head  cut  off  and  blood  streaming 
in  great  jets  ;  there  was  a  wicked  woman  with  flames 
sprouting  up  all  round  her,  and  the  devil  represented 
by  an  innocent-looking  black  baby.  In  this  connection 
it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  all  good  people  were 
represented  as  white  and  with  full  faces,  while  bad 
people  were  black  and  in  profile.  Most  of  the  pictures 
contrived  to  drag  in  a  crowd,  all  the  heads  being 
huddled  together  and  designated  by  segments  of 
circles,  which  grew  smaller  and  smaller  as  the  indi- 
viduals were  more  remote  from  the  foreground.  I 
noticed  a  large  picture  of  Menelik  I.,  the  sen  of 
Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  and  was  amused 
to  find  that  he  greatly  resembled  the  present  Menelik, 
while  the  Queen  of  Sheba  was  the  very  image  of 
Taitu,  his  present  Majesty's  consort.  And  among 
the  courtiers  was  one  for  which  Ras  Makonnen  had 
been  taken  as  model.  At  the  other  church,  which 
is  dedicated  to  S.  Raguel,  even  this  pretence  was 
thrown  off,  and  I  saw  a  large  picture  of  the  present 
King  and  all  his  Court.  Of  course  they  were  painted 
full  face  and  with  very  white  skins.  The  Abyssinians 
took  great  delight  in  making  out  which  was  which 
courtier.  There  was  Ras  Makonnen,  there  was  Ras 
Michael,  and  so  on.  From  the  conspicuous  position 
always  allotted  to  Ras  Makonnen,  it  is  obvious  that 
he  is  generally  regarded  as  the  probable  heir  to  the 


282 


ABYSSINIA 


throne.  At  Maryam  the  paintings  included  several 
curious  alleororical  beasts,  one  of  which  consisted  of 
nothing  but  feathers,  eyes,  and  ears.  At  S.  Raguel 
there  was  a  very  weird  picture  of  the  sick  of  the 
palsy  taking  up  his  bed  and  walking  :  an  enormous 
iron  bedstead  was  borne  aloft  and  seemed  to  enter 


CHURCH  OF  S.   RACxL  EL,  ENTOTTO. 
(Fhotoiiraph  by  W.  A.  M.  Wakemax.) 


right  into  the  head  of  its  bearer.  There  were  fine 
big  silver  drums  on  the  fioor  in  both  churches. 

We  approached  S.  Raguel  along  the  top  of  a  ruined 
wall  and  found  a  fairly  large  ill-kept  enclosure, 
where  we  had  lunch.  The  priests  in  charge  of  the 
place  exhibited  great  disinclination  to  let  us  in  at 
all.     After  much   talk   some  keys   were  produced, 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY  283 


but  the  priest  wanted  to  bargain  as  to  the  price  we 
would  pay  before  he  consented  to  open  the  door. 
To  cut  the  matter  short,  I  advanced  a  dollar,  and 
all  further  opposition  was  withdrawn.  We  climbed 
some  rickety  wooden  stairs  to  an  upper  gallery, 
covered  with  worn-out  matting  consisting  of  strips  of 
bamboo  roughly  tied  together.  There  were  pictures 
round  the  holy  of  holies  as  before.  S.  Stephen  was 
being  stoned  with  huge  black  boulders  like  irregular 
cannon  balls.  My  companion,  the  Legation  doctor, 
was  constantly  asking  to  be  allowed  to  see  inside  the 
holy  of  holies,  but  was  told  that  the  priest  who  kept  the 
key  was  absent  at  Addis  Ababa.  Presently,  however, 
another  priest  turned  up  while  we  were  having  lunch, 
and  the  doctor  appealed  to  him.  He  said  it  was 
quite  impossible,  but  on  receipt  of  two  dollars  abruptly 
changed  his  mind.  The  custodians  seemed  to  know 
very  well  that  they  were  doing  wrong,  and  displayed 
huge  anxiety  to  get  the  thing  over  as  quickly  as 
possible.  They  hurried  us  up  the  rickety  steps,  opened 
the  door  of  the  sanctuary,  took  great  care  to  keep 
us  as  far  off  as  possible,  and  kept  exclaiming,  Now 
that  is  all.  I  hope  you  are  satisfied.  Let  us  go 
away  again.  You  ought  really  to  give  us  some  more 
dollars  for  what  we  have  done."  There  was,  however, 
really  next  to  nothing  to  see.  In  the  darkness  I 
could  just  make  out  the  tabernacle  inside  the  holy 
of  holies.  It  was  a  kind  of  ark,  covered  with  cheap 
draperies  and  surmounted  by  a  crucifix.  A  few 
lanterns  lay  about.  That  was  all.  At  any  rate  that 
was  all  that  we  could  induce  the  priest  to  show  us. 


284 


ABYSSINIA 


I  believe  that  wonderful  illuminated  missals  and 
psalm-books  exist,  but  I  could  not  obtain  a  sight  of 
any  here.  I  was  shown  a  few  very  ordinary  printed 
books  in  Amharic,  and  the  priests  declared  that  they 
had  no  others.  I  also  scoured  Addis  Ababa  to 
very  little  purpose,  finding  only  a  few  commonplace 
books  which  were  being  hawked  about  in  the  market- 
place, and  some  with  uninteresting  illuminations  at 
a  Greek  curiosity  shop,  which  has  not  a  great 
reputation  for  the  authenticity  of  its  curiosities.  I 
believe  there  are  to  be  found  in  Abyssinia  a  consider- 
able number  of  apocryphal  Gospels  and  apocryphal 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  exist  nowhere  else 
in  the  world.  But  to  be  able  to  make  anything  out 
of  them  it  would  be  necessary  to  learn  the  old  dead 
ecclesiastical  language  of  Abyssinia,  which  is  called 
Gheez  and  which  scarcely  any  one  but  the  priests 
knows  anything  about.  I  commend  this  new  field 
of  research  to  any  enterprising  pedant  with  plenty 
of  time  on  his  hands. 

I  was  privileged  to  attend  a  service  at  Trinity 
Church  close  to  Menelik's  Palace  at  Addis  Ababa. 
This  meant  rising  very  early,  for  the  Abyssinians 
go  to  church  in  the  small  hours,  and  by  seven  in 
the  morning  they  are  free  to  amuse  themselves  for 
the  rest  of  the  day.  I  took  with  me  my  one  Abys- 
sinian servant,  and  we  floundered  through  the  stony 
ravines  which  do  duty  for  streets  in  the  capital  at 
that  very  dark  hour  which  proverbially  precedes 
the  dawn.  After  climbing  the  precipice  up  to  the 
church  I  found  a  crowd  collected  outside  the  outer 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


285 


wall.  Everybody  seemed  to  be  abroad  already,  and 
I  noticed  that  whenever  a  peasant  approached  the 
church  on  a  mule  he  dismounted  and  kissed  a  large 
black  stone,  which  stood  some  twenty  yards  away. 
Other  persons  of  a  more  pious  turn  of  mind  went 
right  up  to  the  entrance,  and  kissed  not  only  the  lintels 
but  even  the  floor-beam  of  the  doorway.  This  was 
also  done  by  everybody  who  was  coming  to  church, 
and  my  servant,  in  whom  I  had  never  detected  any 
semblance  of  piety  on  the  road,  was  particularly  punc- 
tilious in  this  respect. 

Wq  passed  through  the  porch  into  a  churchyard. 
There  were  a  number  of  large  trees  under  which 
a  crowd  of  people  sat  about,  looking  very  like 
birds  in  their  national  costume  of  white  shammas, 
each  with  a  broad  red  band.  On  the  whole  there 
was  a  devotional  quiet,  no  buzz  of  conversation,  and 
two  or  three  children,  who  seemed  to  be  playing  at 
hide-and-seek,  were  out  of  keeping  with  the  general 
effect.  My  servant  and  I  made  our  way  into  the 
outer  passage  of  the  circular  church,  where  a  row 
of  men  leaned  against  the  outer  wall  which  was  only 
about  five  feet  hi^h,  and  another  row  leaned  against 
the  inner  wall,  which  was  of  stone  and  cow-dune 
partly  covered  with  pieces  of  cotton  or  chintz,  more 
or  less  ragged  and  of  all  sorts  of  patterns.  A  few 
more  people  lounged  about  in  the  middle  of  the 
passage,  but  they  were  not  numerous  enough  to  cause 
an  obstruction.  The  floor  was  covered  with  straw- 
matting,  and  there  were  some  faded  carpets  near  one 
of  the  inner  doors. 


286 


ABYSSINIA 


Here  about  twenty  priests  were  gathered  in  two 
rows  facing-  each  other.  The  older  ones  had  high 
white  turbans,  generally  covered  in  at  the  top.  This 
and  their  cast  of  countenance  reminded  me  of  the 
dancing  dervishes  of  Constantinople.  Some  of  the 
younger  ones  wore  brown  blanket  cloaks  such  as 
my  Somali  servants  had  adopted  since  they  reached 
the  cold  country,  but  the  majority  w^ore  the  ordinary 
dingy  white  sham  ma  with  its  broad  scarlet  band. 
The  usual  attitude  was  to  stand  with  one  hand 
through  the  neck-hole  of  the  garment  so  as  to  cover 
the  mouth  and  clutch  the  handle  of  a  long  crutch, 
which  is  one  of  the  symbols  of  the  priestly  office. 
One  of  the  chief  priests  held  a  big  book  in  his  right 
hand  and  sang  with  his  mouth  and  nose  completely 
covered  up.  I  made  my  way  into  an  inner  passage, 
but  found  it  so  crowded  that  I  had  to  return.  I 
noticed,  however,  that  the  inner  wall,  behind  which 
is  the  holy  of  holies,  was  plastered  with  common 
European  lithographs  of  religious  subjects.  There 
was  a  faint  hum  of  chauntinof  within. 

I  returned  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  twenty 
priests,  but  beyond  the  remote  hum  could  not  make 
out  that  anything  was  going  on.  Presently  a  small 
bell  tinkled  inside,  and  was  echoed  by  a  big  bell 
attached  to  a  tree  in  the  churchyard.  Many  people 
prostrated  themselves,  and  I  imagined  this  was  the 
announcement  of  the  elevation  of  the  Host,  but  the 
prostrations  were  only  repeated  twice  and  the  bell 
went  on  ringing  some  twenty  times. 

Mules,  some  of  them  with  gorgeous  trappings,  had 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


287 


been  left  outside  the  churchyard,  and  so  had  Muham- 
madans,  but  guns,  shields,  and  spears  were  brought  in. 
A  frequent  sight  was  that  of  a  big  man  coming  in 
through  the  porch,  followed  by  three  or  four  retainers 
bearing  guns.  He  would  bow  to  his  acquaintances 
under  the  trees,  more  or  less  deeply  according  to  their 
importance.  Then  he  stood  up  some  ten  paces  away 
from  the  church  door  and  made  several  deep  bows 
almost  to  the  earth.  Having  thus  completed  his 
devotions,  he  would  retire  and  squat  down  under  the 
trees  among  his  friends. 

Meanwhile  the  chauntino-  inside  has  ceased.  A  small 
boy  clad  in  a  bit  of  sack  stands  facing  the  inner 
door  with  his  back  to  the  priests  and  reads  something 
out  of  a  big  book  fluently  but  in  rather  a  gabbling 
way  and  not  loud  enough  to  be  heard  many  yards  off. 
He  is  succeeded  by  another  similar  boy,  who  does  the 
same  thing  only  not  so  well.  I  fancy  it  is  the  Epistle 
and  Gospel.  Then  all  the  priests  grasp  their  long 
crutches  and  go  through  a  kind  of  gymnastic  exer- 
cise, which  reminds  me  of  the  use  of  spears  at  a 
Somali  dance.  The  crutches  are  five  feet  long,  and 
must,  I  imagine,  have  originally  taken  their  origin 
from  spears,  adapted  for  civilian  use.  The  tops 
are  either  of  ivory  or  brass,  some  of  them  elabo- 
rately carved.  It  is  not  every  priest  who  can  run 
to  a  crutch  ;  in  that  case  he  either  uses  a  plain 
staff  or  one  with  a  round  knob  at  the  end.  One 
priest  acts  as  conductor  and  the  others  imitate 
his  movements,  all  singing  loudly  through  their 
noses.     He  is  not  unlike  Menelik  to  look  at,  and 


288 


ABYSSINIA 


wears  a  big  grin,  not  to  express  merriment  but  rather 
amiability.  The  crutches  are  held  in  the  middle  and 
darted  at  the  ground,  now  near,  now  far,  with  a 
forward  movement  made  by  slightly  bending  the  right 
knee.  It  is  as  though  spears  were  being  poised  and 
aimed  playfully  at  objects  on  the  floor.  The  crutches 
are  then  lifted,  crook  end  up,  a  foot  into  the  air,  they 
are  poised,  they  are  swung,  with  ever-increasing 
vigour.  All  of  a  sudden  the  whole  exercise  ceases 
without  anv  warnins:  whatever. 

The  congregation  impressed  me  as  reverent.  Any- 
body who  happened  to  stroll  near  the  priests  made 
them  a  deep  bow,  which  was  returned  with  a  nod,  at 
whatever  stage  in  the  service.  Few  people  had  prayer- 
books,  for  few  can  read,  but  many  were  diligently  mur- 
muring responses  to  the  almost  inaudible  cha^nting 
within.  Presently  a  slight  commotion  caused  me  to 
turn  my  head.  An  old  priest  issued  from  the  interior, 
carrvinor  a  o-old-headed  crutch,  as  though  it  were  a 
mace.  He  was  followed  bv  a  man  bearing-  on  his 
back  a  gilt  chair  with  violet  velvet  seat.  Next 
came  a  stout  lady  clad  in  a  loose  black  silk  overall. 
They  proceeded  in  single  file  through  the  churchyard, 
every  one  rising  at  their  passage.  A  boy  had  a  red 
silk  parasol  over  the  lady's  head,  and  this  I  knew  was 
one  of  the  insignia  of  royalty.  It  was  Menelik's 
married  dauo^hter. 

Now  in  the  group  I  had  been  watching,  a  young 
priest  in  brown,  with  a  stupid,  ugly  face,  stood  for- 
ward, and  beo'an  a  loner  chaunt  with  no  sort  of  tune. 
He  forgot  his  part  from  time  to  time  and  had  to  be 


ABYSSINIAN  CHRISTIANITY 


289 


prompted  either  from  behind  or  by  those  facing  him. 
At  last  he  finished,  and  everybody  laughed  at  him. 
He  was  half  pushed  away  and  retreated  with  a  sickly 
grin. 

After  an  interval  of  over  half  an  hour  rattles  were 
distributed.  Some  were  of  comparatively  fine  work- 
manship, but  most  of  them  mere  contrivances  of  tin 
and  wire.  Conceive  a  sort  of  tunino--fork  to  beoin 
with,  and  inside  it  a  couple  of  wires  strung  with  a  few 
discs  like  coins.  The  handle  was  jerked  slightly  and 
carelessly  to  and  fro  so  that  the  discs  jingled,  while 
sincrinor  went  on  and  three  bio-  drums  on  the  floor  were 
patted  drowsily  with  very  flat  palms.  The  rattles  were 
not  shaken  in  time  as  the  crutches  were,  but  anyhow, 
heedlessly.  Then  all  of  a  sudden  the  whole  business 
stopped  abruptly  as  though  every  one  had  simul- 
taneously become  bored,  the  rattles  were  collected 
and  stowed  awav  on  a  ledoe  for  future  use. 

By  this  time  it  was  half-past  eight,  and  I  began  to 
feel  that  I  should  like  to  break  my  fast.  Most  of  the 
congregation  seemed  to  be  of  the  same  opinion,  for  they 
were  fast  meltino-  awav  from  the  church.  On  comino- 
outside  I  found  a  large  knot  of  people  listening  to  a 
priest  preaching  to  them  under  a  tree.  They  were 
lolling  about  in  all  sorts  of  ungraceful  attitudes,  but 
appeared  to  be  paying  a  good  deal  of  attention. 

On  emerging  through  the  porch,  I  was  accosted  by 
a  beggar,  who  held  out  his  two  hands.  From  one 
of  them  was  suspended  a  long  steel  chain,  the  other 
clutched  two  cartridges.  It  appears  that  prisoners  are 
allowed  out  on  Sundays  and  holy  clays  to  collect 

u 

I 


290 


ABYSSINIA 


money  from  benevolent  church-goers  for  paying  the 
fines  or  debts  or  blood-money,  which  will  secure  their 
release.  A  cartridge,  as  I  have  already  pointed  out, 
is  current  coin  of  the  realm,  being  the  equivalent  of  a 
twopenny  piastre.     Pity  the  poor  prisoners  ! 


Chapter  XI 


HOMEWARD  HO 

Engaging  Mulemen — A  Dilatory  Departure — Wayside  Amenities— 
An  Ancient  Mystery — Strange  Rivers — A  Tropical  Storm — A 
Night  March — White  Snakes — A  Night  in  an  Open  Boat — 
Jibuti — A  Second  Delagoa  Bay — The  Question  of  Arms — 
Obock — Perim — Somalis  Transformed — The  Future  of  Abys- 
sinia— Openings  for  Explorers — Ziquala — Northern  Abyssinia — 
The  Mad  Mullah 

I  BELIEVE  I  beat  the  record  by  the  swiftness  of  my 
return  to  the  coast.  But  at  first  it  seemed  as  though 
I  were  doomed  to  have  all  the  old  difficulties  over 
again.  I  thought  I  had  now  sufficient  experience  to 
choose  my  own  mulemen,  and,  despite  the  advice  of 
the  Legation  interpret^er,  I  settled  upon  a  promising 
gang.  I  made  it  an  absolute  stipulation  that  I  should 
reach  Harrar  within  eighteen  days.  I  promised  an 
extra  dollar  per  mule  for  every  day  saved,  and 
extra  dollars  as  an  inducement  to  my  personal 
servants  to  assist  in  hurrying  on  ;  I  paid  only  half 
the  journey  money  in  advance,  and  I  made  the  head 
muleman  sign  a  paper  agreeing  that,  if  we  did  not 
reach  Harrar  in  eighteen  days,  he  should  forfeit  the 
other  half. 

When  the  morrow  came,  of  course  there  w^ere  no 

mulemen.     I  sent  twice  all  the  way  to  the  other  side 

291 


292 


ABYSSINIA 


of  Addis  Ababa,  but  could  get  no  tidings  of  them. 
At  last,  late  in  the  afternoon,  one  of  them  turned  up 
looking  rather  blear-eyed,  the  previous  day  having 
been  a  high  festival  in  honour  of  S.  Raguel  at 
Entotto.  He  had  plenty  of  excuses  as  usual  :  his 
brother  was  dead,  and  seven  mules  were  lost. 

The  whole  day  was  spent  in  urging  departure  and 
resisting  further  attempts  at  imposition.  At  last,  at 
noon  on  the  morrow,  everything  seemed  to  be 
arranged,  and  I  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief  as  I  saw  the 
loaded  caravan  depart  from  the  compound.  But  a 
couple  of  hours  later  I  found  it  had  only  gone  outside 
the  wall,  and  the  head  nagadi  insisted  that  I  should 
hire  two  more  mules. 

Our  first  march  was  accordingly  a  very  short  one, 
and  next  morning  I  learned  that  many  of  the  mules 
had  strayed,  some  all  the  way  back  to  Addis  Ababa, 
and  that  the  mulemen  had  gone  off  in  pursuit. 

I  said  that  we  must  press  on  with  what  we  had,  and 
leave  some  one  to  mind  the  things  which  could  not 
be  carried.  This  seemed  very  distasteful  to  every- 
body, but  at  last  I  persuaded  one  man  to  start  with 
four  mules  which  belonged  to  him.  Then  my  men 
began  to  load  the  others  themselves,  taking  a  very 
lone  time  to  do  so  in  an  amateur  fashion.  As  soon 
as  one  mule  was  tethered  the  next  one  would  bolt. 
It  seemed  a  hopeless,  interminable  job. 

We  managed  to  strike  camp  at  last,  but  we 
had  not  gone  five  minutes  when  one  of  the  head 
mulemen  came  running  up  breathless  and  excited, 
with  a  long,  curved  sword  in  a  bright  red  sheath  at 


HOMEWARD  HO 


293 


his  side.  He  rushed  ahead  and  turned  all  the  mules 
back.  I  stopped  them  on  my  side,  and  we  stood 
facing  each  other  but  unable  to  argue  as  Shirdon,  the 
Harrari  interpreter,  had  gone  on  ahead.  We  had 
to  wait  some  fifteen  minutes  before  he  could  be  re- 
called. Then  it  appeared  that  the  right  loads  had 
not  been  put  upon  the  right  mules,  and,  as  those  which 
belonged  to  him  were  overweighted,  he  protested. 
I  allowed  him  to  rearrange  two  or  three  mules 
and  set  off  driving  the  others  myself  in  front  of 
me. 

Abdi  came  to  me  in  a  very  doleful  frame  of  mind, 
saying  that  all  the  mules  were  tired  and  sore  in  the 
back,  and  that  very  few  of  them  could  ever  reach 
Harrar.  He  advised  camping  two  or  three  days 
w^here  we  were  until  we  could  cret  a  fresh  set  of  mules 
from  Addis  Ababa.  I  told  him  that  I  was  going  on 
even  though  I  had  to  walk  by  myself  and  do  without 
baggage.  Presently  the  Somali  buoyancy  reasserted 
itself  and  he  was  roaring  with  laughter  over  an 
amusing  conversation  which  had  taken  place  between 
Reggel,  my  cook,  and  the  man  with  the  long,  curved 
sword. 

Swordsman  :  "By  the  death  of  Menelik,  I  will  not 
start  at  all  to-morrow.  I  will  rest  and  take  my  ease 
and  you  shall  all  await  my  pleasure." 

Reggel  :  "  Nay,  but  you  shall  go.  We  will  con- 
strain you." 

Swordsman  :  "  Why,  then,  do  I  wear  a  sword  by  my 
side  ?  " 

Reggel:  "  We  have  guns,  many,  many  guns.     I  tie 


294 


ABYSSINIA 


you  up  with  a  piece  of  string  and  put  a  gun  in  your 
mouth." 

As  I  passed  through  the  forest  of  Kunni  I  beheld 
a  brown  cloak  and  a  sheet,  apparently  flung  down 
under  a  tree.  My  men  gave  a  whoop,  the  sheet 
and  the  brown  cloak  lifted  themselves  as  though  by 
enchantment,  and  there  issued  forth  first  the  grinning 
faces  of  my  cook  and  tent-boy,  then  their  shoulders, 
and  finally  their  whole  bodies.  It  is  a  convenient 
method  of  repose  in  a  country  infested  by  insects 
and  not  wholly  innocent  of  snakes. 

Near  the  top  of  a  steep  pass  in  the  forest  of  Hirna, 
further  on,  I  observed  two  stones,  which  at  the  first 
glimpse  were  identical  with  the  brown  cloak  and  the 
sheet  of  my  two  retainers.  Nobody  whooped,  and  the 
recumbent  figures  remained  immovable.  Methought 
it  w^as  a  strange  place  to  have  chosen  for  an  afternoon 
siesta  in  a  flood  of  rain.  The  bodies  were  stretched 
out  in  the  centre  of  a  circular  cairn,  connected  with  a 
wall  which  projected  half-way  out  into  the  road.  I 
peered  over  to  see  what  could  have  made  my  servants 
slumber  so  soundly,  and  lo !  the  sheet  and  the  brown 
cloak  had  a  coating  of  green  mould  which  spoke  of 
centuries.  Was  this  an  enchanted  forest  or  the 
threshold  of  the  palace  of  the  Sleeping  Beauty  ? 

I  sat  down  to  eat  n^y  lunch  in  the  rain,  and  presently 
I  noticed  a  lono\  sluoforish  file  of  Abvssinians  and 
donkeys  making  their  way  up  the  hill.  On  reaching 
the  cairn,  the  men  of  the  party  stood  up  to  attention 
beside  it,  removed  their  big  felt  hats,  picked  up  each 
a  little  stone  and  dropped  it  into  the  enclosure.  Then 


HOMEWARD  HO 


295 


they  bent  their  heads  in  homage  to  the  recumbent 
figures  and  muttered  something  for  the  space  of  half 
a  minute.  They  donned  their  hats  and  plodded 
uphill.  I  inquired  of  ev^erybody  what  it  all  meant, 
but  my  Somalis  were  never  good  interpreters.  My 
general  impression  was  that  long,  long  ago,  in  the 
days  of  the  old  Abyssinians  who  were  subject  to  the 
Oueen  of  Sheba,  there  was  war  in  this  reofion  and  a 
man  and  boy  were  sore  pursued.  At  last,  when  they 
were  so  tired  that  they  could  go  no  further,  they  lay 
down  in  their  outer  garments  and  covered  themselves 
just  as  my  cook  and  tent-boy  do,  and  they  prayed  that 
they  might  be  turned  into  stone  if  only  they  could 
escape  from  their  pursuers.  The  God  of  Battles  heard 
their  prayer;  and  if  you  doubt  this,  there  they  are  as  a 
sufficient  testimony  unto  all  time. 

Such  is  the  scepticism  of  a  Somali  that  he  ridicules 
everything.  Even  in  telling  the  story  of  these  stones 
the  Pilgrim  thought  it  necessary  to  preface  his  transla- 
tion with  the  words,  "He  make  one  lie  and  say  " 

What  a  descent  is  this  from  the  hallowed  words, 
"Once  upon  a  time."  Half  the  charm  is  destroyed 
by  so  singular  a  lack  of  imagination. 

The  Abyssinian  mulemen  and  my  Somali  servants 
disputed  for  a  while  as  to  whether  the  people  who  had 
been  turned  into  stones  were  Moslems  or  Christians, 
each  denying  it  on  behalf  of  his  own  religion.  Out  of 
this  dispute  came  yet  another  version.  "  They  make 
one  lie  and  say "  that  in  the  very  long  ago  there 
wandered  into  the  forest  of  IHrna  a  boy  and  a  girl, 
the  one  a  Christian  and  the  other  a  Moslem,  and  they 


296 


ABYSSINIA 


made  a  vow  that  they  would  neither  drink  strong 
drink,  nor  tell  falsehoods,  nor  run  after  the  other 
sex,  nor  do  anything  else  which  was  wrong,  and 
they  prayed  that  they  might  be  turned  into  stones 
if  ever  they  broke  their  vow.  They  tarried  here  by 
the  roadside,  and  they  sinned,  and  their  prayer  was 
heard. 

I  think  the  rivers  of  East  Africa  surprised  me  as 


A   RIVER  IN    EAST  AFRICA. 

(Pliotoi^raph  by  Captain  Powell-Cotton.) 


much  as  anything  on  my  surprising  journey.  Indeed, 
I  vow  that  I  should  have  found  it  difficult  to  believe 
in  them  unless  I  had  actually  seen  them.  I  reached 
Gildessa,  homeward  bound,  in  a  flood  of  rain,  which 
seemed  now  to  have  become  chronic.  I  crossed  the 
wide,  dry  torrent-bed  to  camp  away  from  the  village 
and  its  feverish  reputation,  even  though  I  intended 
only  to  remain  a  few  hours,  just  time  enough  to 


HOMEWARD  HO 


297 


engage  fresh  camels.  As  I  sat  at  meat  within  my 
tent  I  heard  the  roar  of  many  waters,  and  Abdi 
rushed  in  to  say,  '  The  river  has  come,  sah'b,  no  one 
can  pass  over  until  to-morrow." 

Still  I  was  incredulous,  but  I  rushed  out,  and  lo  !  I 
might  almost  have  been  beside  the  Rhone  at  Geneva. 
Some  hundred  yards  of  deep  water  separated  me  from 


A  DRY  TORRENT-BEL). 


Gildessa,  bubbling,  screaming,  hissing  water,  which 
bore  along  with  it  trunks  of  trees,  great  zarebas  of 
brambles,  the  carcase  of  a  sheep,  and  various  samples 
of  agriculture.  Men  stood  on  either  side,  cut  off  from 
their  destination,  wonderino-  how  lonof  it  mioht  be 
before  they  could  pass  over.  Several  of  my  servants 
were  thus  made  prisoners,  and  had  to  remain  in  the 


298 


ABYSSINIA 


village  until  the  waters  should  abate.  In  about  two 
hours  the  current  was  less  fierce,  and  Somali  youths 
began  to  make  chains  with  their  hands  to  see  whether 
it  was  possible  to  stand  against  the  stream.  Soon 
they  grew  more  venturesome  and  waded  in  alone,  but 
I  saw  one  carried  off  his  legs  and  whirled  head  over 
heels  for  many  yards  before  he  could  receive  a  helping 
hand.  At  sundown  it  was  still  hopeless  to  convey 
camels  across,  so  I  resigned  myself  to  delay  my 
departure  until  the  morrow. 

During  the  night  the  bed  became  dry  again,  and, 
after  being  delayed  by  the  customs.  I  called  for 
luncheon  at  Arto.  Here  was  another  dry  bed,  where, 
by  scratching  the  surface,  hot  medicinal  springs  were 
revealed.  Twelve  inches  below,  the  water  was  so 
hot  that  a  Somali  could  not  bear  to  thrust  in  his  foot. 
I  recalled  a  tale  of  a  man  at  Harrar,  whose  skin  had 
become  horny  but  had  been  cured  quickly  by  washing 
at  Arto  after  the  faculty  had  given  up  his  case  as 
hopeless.  I  ate  my  meal  in  an  island  shrubbery  in 
the  middle  of  the  dry  bed,  crouching  under  an 
umbrella  and  doino-  vain  battle  with  thousands  of 
refugee-flies.  Presently  a  river  made  its  appearance 
in  the  further  part  of  the  bed.  It  presented  a  strange 
sight,  advancing  like  an  enormous  snake  with  the  roar 
of  an  express  train.  Suddenly  there  was  a  cry  from 
my  men  that  another  flood  was  coming  to  cut  me  off 
from  my  camp.  I  had  just  time  to  rush  across  with 
my  table,  victuals,  and  other  paraphernalia  before  it 
arrived.  I  might  easily  have  been  isolated  there  for 
the  night  sans  food,  sans  tent,  sans  bed,  sans  anything. 


HOMEWARD  HO 


299 


As  it  was,  I  had  to  lose  another  day,  remaining  at 
Arto  till  the  morrow. 

At  the  next  midday  camp  I  met  a  party  of  Germans 
and  dallied  with  them  too  long  over  lunch.  The 
result  was  that  darkness  overtook  me  in  the  midst 
of  a  wilderness  of  boulders.  It  seemed  impossible 
to  proceed,  so  I  sat  down  and  sent  on  a  couple  of 
men  to  fetch  a  lantern  from  the  camp,  which  I  had 
ordered  to  be  pitched  on  the  other  side  of  Dabbas, 
the  next  river-bed,  for  I  vowed  I  was  not  going  to 
risk  being  cut  off  again.  After  the  men  had  gone  on 
a  little  way  they  shouted  that  the  boulders  were 
ended,  so  I  plodded  on,  dog-tired,  at  less  than  a 
foot's  pace.  It  was  a  huge  relief  when  at  last  I 
reached  Dabbas  and  entered  the  river-bed.  I  heard 
loud  shouts  from  my  camp  on  the  other  side,  and 
imagined  it  was  the  usual  interchange  of  Somali 
amenities,  but  the  Pilgrim  said  we  were  being  urged 
to  hurry  on,  as  a  river  was  coming.  I  laughed  this  to 
scorn  and  dallied  obstinately,  though  when  we  were 
half-way  the  cries  became  more  urgent.  When  I 
came  into  camp  just  across  the  bed,  I  was  beginning 
to  chaff  Abdi  about  his  wild  idea  that  a  river  could 
come  so  swiftly,  when  I  heard  a  sound  like  that  of  a 
train  in  the  distance.  It  gathered  volume  very  quickly, 
and  in  less  than  five  minutes  the  whole  bed  was  full  of 
a  surging,  roaring  torrent,  fully  thirty  yards  broad. 
Had  I  lingered  yet  a  little  while  among  the  boulders 
I  should  have  had  to  spend  the  night  dinnerless  and 
without  a  roof  to  my  head,  perhaps  even  unable  to 
pass  over  next  morning,  for  the  river  seemed  as 


300 


ABYSSINIA 


vigorous  as  ever  when  I  departed.  Next  day 
at  lunch  I  met  an  agreeable  American,  who  was 
reminded  (of  course)  of  Mark  Twain  by  my  narration 
of  the  river.  He  had  some  tale  of  a  man  drivino^ 
along  a  dry  river-bed  in  a  buggy  (I  am  sure  it  was  a 
buggy)  while  his  dog  swam  in  a  river  behind  him. 

I  am  told  that  rivers  are  much  the  same  in  South 
Africa,  and  that  the  army  service  reeulations  forbid 
camping  in  a  river-bed,  however  dry  and  tempting  it 
may  appear.  The  fact  is,  so  sudden  and  vehement 
are  African  storms,  that  you  may  have  lived  in  a 
drought  for  weeks,  and  then,  hey  presto !  a  flood  is 
upon  you,  having  travelled  perhaps  some  fifty  miles 
from  storm-struck  hills. 

I  had  myself  some  slight  experience  of  tropical 
storms.  As  I  was  dining  one  evenincr  at  Goda- 
burka,  I  heard  a  volley  fired  close  to  my  tent,  and 
the  Pilofrim  asked  me  if  I  heard  "  the  shoutino-.' 
I  thought  he  meant  shooting,  and  asked  what  it 
was  for.  He  said  the  shootinof  was  to  warn  off 
some  hyenas  which  were  prowling  far  too  near  to 
the  mules,  but  that  he  was  talking  about  shouting. 
"  Hark!  there  it  is!"  and  I  heard  the  low  growl  of 
thunder  among  the  distant  hills.  Soon  he  come 
with  much  water,"  said  the  Pilgrim.  And  indeed 
he  "  did.  With  scarcely  any  further  warning  a  great 
storm  burst  upon  us.  Two  men,  glad  of  the  excuse 
for  taking  shelter,  rushed  in  to  hold  up  my  tent-pole 
and  could  scarcely  support  it.  The  white  Cabul 
cooking-tent  had  already  been  rolled  up  and  thrown 
down  in  a  heap  by  the  first  gust  of  wind  and  rain. 


HOMEWARD  HO 


301 


The  sensations  inside  my  tent  were  strange,  and  I 
could  almost  understand  the  alarm  on  the  faces  of  my 
men.  The  air  tingled  with  electricity.  There  was  a 
sound  as  though  the  canvas  were  being  lashed  with 
Titanic  flails.  Then  came  the  cracking  of  artillery, 
a  sharp  fusillade  which  lasted  for  an  hour  and  a 
quarter.  The  grimness  of  the  men's  faces  softened  a 
little  when  I  lit  a  cigarette,  though  I  think  they 
thought  it  somewhat  disrespectful  to  the  elements. 
Then  I  curled  myself  up  in  my  chair  and  fell  asleep. 
It  was  a  mighty  storm,  but  there  are  few  things  which 
can  murder  sleep  after  a  day's  march  in  Abyssinia. 

After  the  first  hesitation  of  departure  the  mulemen 
seemed  to  be  almost  as  zealous  to  get  back  to  Harrar 
as  I  could  be  myself.  Particularly  when  we  drew 
near  to  the  stretch  of  desert  between  Tadechamalka 
and  the  H awash  river,  their  old  fears  lent  wings  to 
their  feet.  The  day  before  they  had  talked  of  night 
marches,  and  of  course  I  agreed  to  them — anything 
to  reach  home  quickly — but  I  had  small  hopes  of 
their  really  meaning  business.  Leaving  my  camp  at 
daybreak  I  reached  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  river 
at  Tadechamalka  in  a  few  hours,  and  we  waited  there 
all  through  the  hot  part  of  the  day  to  collect  our 
strength  for  the  long  rush  over  the  desert.  The 
mulemen  seemed  loth  to  push  on  and  whispered 
with  each  other  about  the  dangers  which  confronted 
them.  But  at  2.30  I  grew  tired  of  waiting  and 
resolved  to  press  on  in  advance — a  thing  I  rarely 
did,  lest  my  caravan  should  make  some  excuse  for 
not  catching  me   up.     At  four  o'clock   I  espied  a 


302 


ABYSSINIA 


very  fine  oryx  with  horns  fully  two  feet  long,  and 
started  in  pursuit.  Directly  I  reached  the  top  of 
one  hill  he  would  disappear  over  the  next,  and 
I  could  onlv  o^et  verv  lonQ-  shots  at  four  and  five 
hundred  yards.  He  led  me  a  pretty  dance,  first  a 
long  w^ay  to  the  right  of  the  road,  and  then  over  very 
stony  ground  far  away  to  the  left.  As  the  hour  for 
sunset  approached  the  beast  disappeared  over  the 
horizon  and  I  plodded  back  to  my  mule  almost  dead 
beat.  There  was  not  a  vestige  of  shade  anywhere, 
and  I  had  to  crouch  under  an  old  cotton  umbrella  by 
the  roadside  to  quaff  cold  tea  in  the  intervals  of 
persecution  by  the  flies.  Hour  after  hour  went  by, 
the  darkness  spread  over  the  desert  and  the  stars 
came  out,  but  there  was  still  no  sign  of  my  caravan. 
The  shikari  and  syce  set  to  work  to  shout,  "  Abdi- 
oo-oo-oo-oo,  Reggel-oo-oo-oo-oo,"  but  no  response 
came.  It  is  very  remarkable  how  Somalis  and 
Abyssinians  are  able  to  converse  at  long  distances. 
Whenever  we  or  the  caravan  seemed  to  have  strayed, 
and  whenever  we  approached  the  camp,  recourse  was 
always  had  to  this  system  of  shouting,  and  presently 
a  faint  echo  would  pipe  out  of  the  darkness,  and  be 
the  prelude  to  a  telephonic  conversation. 

At  last  the  quick  ear  of  my  men  detected  a  move- 
ment in  the  distance,  and  presently  the  vanguard  of 
three  or  four  mules  put  in  an  appearance.  Their 
drivers  were  for  taking  no  notice  of  me  and  going 
straight  on  ahead,  but  I  insisted  on  their  making  a 
halt  for  me  to  dine.  They  were  very  reluctant  about 
this  and  talked  of  the  danofers  of  the  desert  and  the 


HOMEWARD  HO 


303 


necessity  of  pressing  forward,  quite  forgetful  of  the 
fact  that  they  had  started  from  Tadechamalka  much 
later  than  they  promised.  When  the  others  arrived 
there  were  further  expostulations  and  expressions 
of  surprise  at  my  having  stopped  so  soon.  All  the 
mulemen  united  in  imploring  me  to  go  on  at  all 
costs,  lest  we  should  be  attacked  by  wild  men  or 
wild  beasts.  The  cook  and  Abdi  alone  joined  in 
my  merriment  over  these  groundless  alarms.  "  They 
plenty  'fraid,"  said  Reggel  ;  "when  I  go  fetch  some 
wood  away  from  the  road,  they  say  to  me.  If  you 
go  there  you  get  killed.  But  I  say,  I  just  going 
to  see  whether  I  can  get  killed  that  way." 

It  was  already  nearly  nine  o'clock,  and  I  refused  to 
stir  until  I  had  some  dinner.  None  of  the  men  liked 
the  delay,  but  when  they  saw  that  I  was  determined 
they  gave  in  with  a  good  grace,  the  three  cooking 
stones  were  collected,  and  soon  I  was  discussing  soup 
and  roast  mutton  in  the  starlight.  Then  I  lay  down 
on  the  ground  for  forty  winks,  and  told  Abdi  not  to 
wake  me  until  the  very  last  moment  for  departure. 
With  their  usual  contrariness,  these  people  who  had 
wished  to  press  on  at  all  costs  at  nine  o'clock  were 
now  in  no  hurry  when  they  had  settled  down  to  rest, 
and  it  was  midnight  before  I  was  waked  by  Abdi's 
voice  in  my  ear. 

It  was  a  pitch  black  night,  and  even  when  we  were 
accustomed  to  the  darkness  it  was  impossible  to  see 
more  than  a  yard  or  two  ahead.  The  caravan  kept 
all  together,  I  leading  the  way  with  the  shikari 
holding  a  lantern  immediately  under  my  mule's  nose. 


304 


ABYSSINIA 


Looking  back  I  could  just  make  out  the  other  lantern, 
dancing  about  like  a  will  o'-the-wisp  at  the  extreme 
rear.  The  whole  effect  was  extraordinarily  weird, 
with  the  gaunt  forms  looming  out  of  the  darkness, 
pails  jangling,  spears  bristling  on  every  hand.  Nearly 
every  one  kept  silence  all  through  the  night,  save  for 
an  occasional  snatch  of  song,  which  was  instantly 
hushed.  We  might  have  been  a  ghostly  army 
stealing  forward  to  surprise  a  town. 

On,  on,  on  :  I  have  never  known  anything  that 
seemed  quite  so  endless.  I  would  cling  to  my  mule 
until  I  began  to  nod  and  fear  that,  falling  asleep,  I 
might  fall  off.  Then  I  would  walk  for  a  while  to 
keep  awake,  though  the  road  was  very  rough  and 
the  dim  light  of  the  lantern  did  not  always  save  my 
feet  from  nasty  knocks.  So  soon  as  I  was  a  little 
less  sleepy  I  would  mount  again  until  drowsiness  over- 
came me  once  more.  As  we  proceeded  the  changes 
from  ridino-  to  walkino^  and  walkinQf  to  ridino^  became 
more  and  more  frequent.  I  only  allowed  myself  two 
intervals  of  rest,  five  minutes  each,  all  through  the 
night,  for  I  knew  that  if  once  I  gave  in,  the  effort  of 
starting  on  again  would  only  be  the  more  distasteful. 

The  false  dawn  shivered  over  the  sky,  the  stars 
grew  pale  like  candles  in  daylight  and  then  suddenly 
seemed  to  go  out,  the  sun  straight  in  front  of  us  made 
its  presence  felt  behind  a  big  purple  cloud  upon  the 
horizon.  We  were  now  close  to  the  Hawash  river 
and  the  desert  was  practically  at  an  end.  I  had 
earned  a  rest,  and  must  wait  to  see  where  my  laggard 
caravan  intended  to  camp.    So  I  stretched  myself  out 


HOMEWARD  HO 


305 


against  a  tuft  of  wiry  brown  grass  by  the  roadside  and 
called  for  a  little  refreshment. 

At  intervals  various  detachments  of  my  caravan 
made  their  appearance,  all  bearing  traces  of  having 
been  up  all  night.  Gradually  I  became  less  and 
less  distinctly  aware  of  their  various  identities,  and 
presently  I  dropped  off  into  the  very  sweetest  hour's 
sleep  I  have  ever  enjoyed.  Then  the  sun  began  to 
beat  upon  me,  and  I  realised  that  I  had  better  press 
on  to  the  camp  before  it  grew  too  hot.  I  expected 
that  after  fording  the  Hawash,  by  no  means  a  pleasant 
operation  with  a  mule  lurching  over  slippery  stones 
in  deep  water,  I  should  find  that  my  camp  had  been 
pitched  ;  but  a  spirit  of  energy  had  suddenly  taken 
hold  of  everybody,  and  it  was  not  until  eleven  o'clock 
that  my  tent  was  pitched  by  the  waters  of  Kachinwaha. 
It  was  nearly  thirty  hours  since  I  had  been  in  a  bed, 
and  fully  half  of  these  had  been  spent  on  the  actual 
march.  I  had  a  great  longing  for  rest,  but  this  the 
flies  would  not  permit  at  any  price,  so  I  was  for 
starting  on  again  in  the  afternoon.  But  by  now 
the  energy  of  the  mulemen  had  evaporated,  and  I 
had  to  leave  them  to  their  heavy  slumbers  all  through 
the  day.  So  nothing  very  much  had  been  gained  by 
the  night  march,  as  we  had  simply  crowded  into  a  day 
and  a  night  the  work  of  two  days,  and  then  given 
most  of  the  second  day  to  recovering  from  our  effort. 

Again  at  the  very  end  of  my  journey  I  indulged  in 
an  all-night  march  through  the  old  waterless  desert 
which  fringes  the  coast.  This  time  we  had  a  moon 
and  the  road  was  not  nearly  so  rough,  but  I  did  not 

X 


3o6 


ABYSSINIA 


like  it  so  well  owing  to  the  presence  of  countless  fat 
white  snakes  about  a  foot  long  which  lay  about  on 
the  road.  Every  now  and  then  one  of  my  Somalis 
would  jump  aside  suddenly,  grasp  his  staff  or  pick  up 
a  stone,  and  kill  one  of  these  snakes  with  a  quick 
strong  blow.  As  they  all  had  bare  feet  they  ran 
considerable  danger,  and  I  was  told  that  a  bite  from 
one  of  these  snakes  meant  certain  death  within  three 
minutes.  As  for  myself,  I  was  safe  on  my  mule  and 
even  when  walking  with  the  protection  of  my  boots 
and  gaiters,  but  I  had  considerable  hesitation  about 
lying  down,  however  much  I  might  need  a  rest.  It  was 
only  after  sunrise  that  the  snakes  disappeared,  and  I 
could  allow  myself  the  luxury  of  a  sound  sleep  on  the 
sand  beside  the  road.  I  was  awakened  by  violent 
rain,  which  I  learned  had  been  douchinor  me  for  at 
least  half  an  hour,  and  I  congratulated  myself  upon 
the  robustness  with  which  my  journey  had  endowed 
me  to  enable  me  to  stand  hardships  of  this  kind. 

Perhaps  the  last  lap  was  the  longest  of  any.  I 
had  expected  to  take  only  two  or  three  hours  from 
Warabot,  where  I  had  pitched  my  first  camp,  to 
Zaila,  but  every  one  was  utterly  exhausted,  my 
mule  perhaps  most  of  any,  and  the  drenching  rain 
assisted  in  damping  our  ardour. 

Over  the  plain  I  espied  glistening  white  houses, 
details  grew  more  distinct,  there  was  the  flagstaff  of 
the  Consulate,  something  shivered — thalatta,  thalatta, 
the  sea !  the  sea  !  El  hamdou  lillah  !  hurrah  !  the 
long  pilgrimage  was  over. 

^Iv  friend  Mr.  Harold,  the  Consul  at  Zaila,  mio-ht 


HOMEWARD  HO 


307 


be  described  as  a  Job's  comforter.  When  I  was  about 
to  plunge  into  the  desert,  full  of  misgivings  as  to  the 
hardships  which  might  be  in  store,  he  sat  at  lunch 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  and  poured  forth  all  the 
most  appalling  stories  he  could  think  of  about 
tra\  ellers  who  had  died  of  sunstroke,  been  eaten  up 
by  vultures  and  hyenas,  or  speared  by  Somali  braves. 
Now  that  I  was  takinor  niv  farewell  dinner  with  him 
before  setting  out  for  Jibuti  in  an  open  boat  and 
fancied  I  might  easily  have  a  very  bad  time,  he 
amused  himself  in  the  same  old  mischievous  way. 

Wlien  I  returned  rejoicing  to  Zaila,  throwing  up 
my  hat  at  the  sight  of  the  sea  and  crossing  myself 
with  satisfaction  over  the  termination  of  all  my 
labours,  everything  seemed  arranged  for  the  best  in 
this  best  of  all  possible  worlds.  I  was  even  to  be 
spared  the  passage  on  the  rickety  Parsee  boat,  about 
whose  discomforts  I  had  heard  so  much,  for  by  a 
lucky  chance  a  Royal  Indian  Marine  Ship  was  again 
due  with  a  convoy  of  troops.  I  flattered  myself  that 
I  was  now  almost  amid  the  delisrhts  of  the  Garden 
of  Aden  once  more. 

Suddenly,  however,  the  cup  was  dashed  from  my 
lips.  The  Consul  came  in  to  breakfast  with  a  very 
long  face.  The  Parsee  boat  had  arrived  flying  a 
yellow  flag.  There  was  plague  at  Aden  ;  he  could 
allow  no  one  to  land  until  he  had  thouoht  out  the 
question  of  quarantine.  The  mails  must  be  fumigated  ; 
altogether  what  a  to-do  !  It  was  out  of  the  question 
for  me  to  go  to  Aden,  for  I  should  be  stranded  there 
indefinitely.     The  P.  and  O.  people  were  declining  to 


3o8 


ABYSSINIA 


book  homeward  passengers  from  Aden,  lest  they 
should  thereby  lose  their  pratique,  and  the  only  way 
home  would  be  by  travelling  out  to  India  and  back 
again,  which  to  the  ordinary  mind  suggested  the 
frying-pan  and  the  fire. 

Well,  what  was  I  to  do  ?  The  resources  of  Zaila 
would  soon  be  exhausted,  and  a  summer  there  would 
not  be  precisely  hilarious.  Happy  thought :  why  not 
run  over  to  Jibuti  and  collect  a  few  impressions  of  one 
more  P>ench  colony  ?  It  was  true  that  I  should  have 
to  travel  all  night  in  an  open  native  boat,  but  that 
would  be  one  more  experience  wherewith  to  delight 
my  readers. 

The  more  I  thought  about  it,  as  the  time  for 
departure  drew  near,  the  less  I  liked  it.  The  boat 
was  ready,  my  baggage  and  my  tw^o  last  remaining 
servants  were  on  board,  and  messages  reached  me 
every  few  minutes  begging  me  to  hurry  up  as  the 
wind  was  now  particularly  favourable.  Still  I  dallied 
over  my  dinner,  I  accepted  one  more  whiskey  and 
sparklet,  I  must  finish  one  more  cigar  :  there  was  no 
end  to  my  excuses.  And  the  Consul  lay  back  in  his 
Indian  lounge  chair  in  the  smoking-room,  magnifying 
the  perils  of  the  deep. 

These  Somali  boats  were  really  very  wretched, 
unseaworthy  craft.  Once  upon  a  time  he  had  sent 
some  of  Colonel  Sadler's  servants  over  to  Aden  in 
one  of  them,  but  after  trying  for  two  months  to  get 
there,  they  came  back  in  despair.  They  had  drifted 
on  to  the  Arabian  coast,  but  on  trying  to  land  were 
menaced  by  the  natives  and  thankful  to  get  off  with 


HOMEWARD  HO 


309 


their  lives.  Meanwhile  the  Colonel  was  clamouring 
for  his  servants,  and  everybody  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  poor  fellows  must  have  been  eaten 
up  by  sharks.  Sharks  ?  Yes,  indeed,  they  swarmed 
in  these  waters.  A  soldier  bathing  at  Aden  was 
carried  off  to  sea,  and  only  rescued  minus  two  legs 
and  one  arm.  Another  man  climbing  up  a  ladder 
out  of  the  water  felt  a  sudden  tug  at  his  leg  but  held 
on  like  grim  death.  His  friends  in  the  boat  helped 
him  in  only  to  find  that  one  of  his  legs  had  been  bitten 
off  A  man  washing  his  shirt  in  quite  shallow  water 
felt  a  tug  at  the  shirt  and  then  lost  both  the  shirt  and 
an  arm.  Imao^ine  the  horror  of  a  fioht  with  a  shark 
in  the  water !  What  utter  helplessness  :  the  shark 
drags  you  under,  bites  off  a  leg,  and  lets  you  struggle 
up  to  the  surface.  Then  he  comes  and  drags  you 
down  again  and  takes  off  an  arm,  and  so  on.  It  is 
like  a  cat  playing  with  a  mouse. 

At  half-past  ten  I  took  a  reluctant  leave,  and  made 
my  way  down  to  the  landing-stage  through  deep 
pitch  darkness.  At  the  end  of  the  pier  I  found 
the  landing-chair  waiting  for  me.  Four  Somali 
boys  grasped  the  poles,  I  lurched  into  the  chair, 
shouted  a  last  goodbye  to  my  friends,  and  the  boys 
began  to  plod  out  to  sea  through  a  darkness  which 
might  be  felt.  Never  could  I  have  imagined  so 
weird  a  sensation.  The  boys  seemed  to  find  me 
very  heavy,  for  the  chair  rolled  and  lurched  un- 
pleasantly. How  would  it  be  if  I  were  suddenly 
dropped  into  the  water?  All  the  Consul's  stories  of 
sharks  came  to  my  mind,  and  I  also  reflected  how 


ABYSSINIA 


they  are  in  the  habit  of  attacking  the  Somali  divers 
at  Aden.  I  pictured  to  myself  how  prompdy  I 
should  be  dropped  with  my  chair  if  the  bearers  were 
suddenly  confronted  by  a  big  grey  fin.  The  fearful 
darkness  would  add  to  the  horror  of  the  situation. 
The  water  became  deeper  and  deeper,  yet  still 
there  was  no  sign  of  my  boat.  It  was  like  walking 
straight  out  to  sea  to  commit  a  neurotic  suicide.  Two 
or  three  supernumerary  boys  were  running  along  un- 
steadily beside  my  chair,  wondering  how  soon  they 
might  have  to  begin  to  swim.  Suddenly  one  of  them 
touched  my  legs  to  suggest  that  I  should  not  dangle 
them  too  low  and  tempt  the  sharks. 

At  last,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  boat  loomed  out  of  the 
darkness  immediately  in  front  of  me.  It  was  a  kind 
of  big,  flat,  heavy  barge,  with  a  great  cumbrous  sail. 
The  task  of  scrambling  in  from  my  chair  w^as  not 
an  easy  one,  but  many  black  hands  were  stretched 
forth  from  the  darkness,  and  somehow^  or  other  it  was 
accomplished.  My  mattress  and  pillows  and  blankets 
had  been  arranged  in  the  stern,  and  after  paying  oft' 
the  bearers  I  expected  that  we  should  be  oft". 

But  half  an  hour  passed  by,  three-quarters,  and 
more  without  the  sip-n  of  a  move.  In  fact  it  looked 
very  much  as  though  the  sailors  were  composing 
themselves  to  sleep.  My  inquiries  were  politely  set 
aside,  until  at  length  I  was  informed  with  some 
reluctance  that  there  was  too  much  wind,  and  that 
in  any  case  the  captain  was  afraid  to  travel  by  night. 
I  asked  why  he  had  not  said  so  before,  but  he  replied 
that  I  had  ofiven  orders  to  start  at  nicjht  and  he  had 


HOMEWARD  HO 


been  afraid  to  disobey  them.  This  is  the  SomaH 
character  all  over. 

He  suggested  that,  if  I  preferred,  I  might  go  back 
to  shore  and  return  in  the  early  morning.  But  I  was 
not  inclined  to  tempt  the  sharks  again,  so  I  remained 
rocking  at  anchor  until  dawn.  It  could  not  be 
described  as  a  particularly  comfortable  night.  The 
rolling  of  the  boat  never  ceased,  and  indeed  some- 
times it  appeared  as  though  we  might  capsize  sideways 
into  the  water.  My  black  crew  became  as  nearly  pale 
as  is  possible  for  a  negro,  and  my  poor  little  baby 
gazelle  bleated  piteously  at  intervals  in  its  basket. 

At  last  the  great  sail  was  deliberately  moved  about 
at  the  imminent  risk  of  whacking  me  over  the  head, 
and  we  were  off.  We  went  fairly  well  for  some  time. 
Then  the  wind  dropped,  and  we  paddled  very  slowly 
for  hours,  generally  keeping  fairly  near  the  low,  un- 
interesting coast.  Hour  after  hour  went  by,  and  I 
vowed  that  the  journey  was  even  more  monotonous 
and  interminable  than  any  I  had  undergone  in  the 
desert. 

I  espied  the  white  houses  of  Jibuti,  rather  fine  in 
outline,  and  I  imagined  that  I  should  soon  be  there. 
Having  expected  to  arrive  in  the  early  morning,  I 
had  unwisely  brought  no  provisions,  and  the  wolf  was 
gnawing  within  me.  We  had  to  go  a  great  way  round 
to  reach  the  entrance  to  the  harbour,  and  only  neared 
the  landing-stage  at  half-past  one  in  the  afternoon. 
On  one  of  the  houses  I  saw^  written  up  in  gigantic 
characters.  Hotel  des  Arcades,  and  I  rejoiced  at 
the  prospect  of  a  meal. 


312 


ABYSSINIA 


But  all  of  a  sudden  there  was  a  loud  cry  from  a 
small  tug  which  advanced  rapidly  towards  us  flying 
a  yellow  flag.  A  negro  in  a  gorgeous  uniform  had 
been  sent  out  to  warn  us  not  to  attempt  to  land  until 
we  had  been  inspected  by  the  quarantine  doctor. 
The  tug  darted  about  hither  and  thither  to  all  parts 
of  the  harbour  giving  similar  warnings  to  other 
arrivals.  Soon  we  were  quite  a  little  flotilla  of 
prisoners,  waiting  impatiently  beneath  a  burning  sun. 
Two  hours  passed  without  a  sign  of  the  doctor — the 
two  longest  hours  I  have  ever  known — and  by  this 
time  I  was  absolutely  famished. 

A  boat  drew  up  at  the  landing-stage,  a  white  man 
in  full  uniform  was  helped  in  very  deliberately  by  a 
retinue  of  blacks,  oars  were  produced,  and  the  boat 
advanced  flying  a  French  tricolour  in  front  and  a 
yellow  flag  behind.  The  doctor  was  evidently  annoyed 
at  being  disturbed,  and  his  manners  were  decidedly 
French,  which  is  to  say  scanty.  He  cross-questioned 
the  captain  and  me  in  a  bullying  tone,  informed  me 
that  I  had  come  from  a  suspect  port,  and  made  a  great 
grievance  of  the  fact  that  mv  two  servants  had  not 
been  set  down  in  the  ship's  manifest. 

"  Tell  them,"  he  said  to  his  interpreter,  "  that  if 
they  commit  these  irregularities  again  I  will  blank 
them  into  quarantine  for  ten  days." 

Oh,  the  joy  of  breaking  my  fast  with  fresh  rolls  and 
milk  coffee,  even  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  ! 

Considering  all  things,  Jibuti  is  a  plausible  place. 
There  are  big  wide  streets  and  big  white  houses.  As 
you  approach  from  the  sea  it  looks  quite  civilised. 


HOMEWARD  HO 


313 


The  shops  contain  a  better  variety  than  is  usually  to 
be  found  in  a  French  colony.  There  was  even  a  bank 
there  until  recently,  but  when  I  started  out  to  change 
some  money  I  found  that  it  had  put  up  its  shutters. 
The  hotels,  too,  are  not  impossible  ;  at  least  they  are 
no  worse  than  those  at  Aden.  There  is  a  native 
quarter  of  straw  huts,  but  it  does  not  predominate  ; 


AUDI  AT  JIBUTI. 


indeed,  you  are  scarcely  aware  of  it  until  you  chance 
to  stroll  into  its  midst.  On  all  hands  are  evidences 
of  prosperity,  and  if  ever  the  French  railway,  which 
has  been  started  hence  into  the  interior,  comes  to 
anything,  Jibuti  will  be  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
ports  in  Africa. 

The  present  signs  of  prosperity  are  largely  artificial. 


3H 


ABYSSINIA 


W^hereas  the  whole  of  British  SomaHland  is  adminis- 
tered by  four  Eng-lishmen,  the  Httle  French  settle- 
ment of  Jibuti  is  swamped  by  whole  armies  of  officials 
and  camp-followers.  It  is  for  their  needs  that  this 
ambitious  town  has  been  called  into  beinof,  and  has 
choked,  swamped,  and  utterly  overshadowed  the  poor 
little  native  village  which  existed  of  old.  Far  from 
proving  prosperity,  the  magnificence  of  Jibuti  costs 
the  French  Government  a  pretty  penny,  and  affords 
an  instructive  contrast  to  the  self-supporting  British 
colony  hard  by.  No  doubt  a  Frenchman  would  reply 
that  all  this  is  only  an  investment,  destined  to  make 
a  very  handsome  return,  both  commercial  and  political, 
when  the  railway  shall  have  developed  the  interior. 
But  this  may  be  dismissed  with  the  quotation  of  their 
own  proverb,  "He  laughs  most  heartily  who  laughs 
last." 

W  e  are  too  prone  to  dismiss  as  unimportant  the 
small  beginnings  of  our  rivals  in  places  with  which 
we  are  but  vaguely  familiar.  "  Oh,  another  little 
railway  into  Africa,"  we  say  ;  "  after  all,  it  will 
probably  help  on  civilisation."  That  was  the  kind 
of  tone  inspired  by  the  Delagoa  Bay  Railway,  and 
we  have  had  reason  to  rue  our  neglect.  It  we 
submit  to  the  completion  of  this  railway  into  Abys- 
sinia, we  shall  either  have  to  fight  for  it  and  con- 
fiscate it,  or  else  undergo  a  o^reat  national  disaster. 

To  begin  w^ith,  our  faithful  Somalis,  w^ho  live  upon 
the  hire  of  their  camels  for  the  transport  of  merchan- 
dise, will  be  reduced  to  beggary.  A  camel  cannot 
compete  with  a  railway  any  more  than  a  cow  can. 


HOMEWARD  HO 


315 


The  thriving  Httle  town  of  Zaila  will  cease  to  be 
visited  ;  indeed  already  many  of  the  merchants  there 
are  abandoning  their  houses  and  migrating  to  Jibuti. 
More  important  still,  Aden  itself  will  lose  the  greater 
part  of  its  African  trade  and  sink  into  a  coaling 
station  of  secondary  importance,  merchantmen  and 
liners  will  prefer  Jibuti  as  a  port  of  call  and  French 
influence  will  replace  our  own. 

What  PVench  influence  means  is  best  illustrated 
by  a  reference  to  the  recent  trade  of  Jibuti.  This, 
it  will  be  found,  depends  almost  entirely  upon  the 
supply  of  arms  to  the  natives.  The  Geneva  Con- 
vention and  the  obvious  duty  of  white  men  forbid 
this  all  over  the  world.  The  Abyssinians  having,  for 
some  mysterious  reason,  been  admitted  as  signatories 
to  the  Geneva  Convention,  are  allowed  to  have  fire- 
arms, and  naturally  wish  to  prevent  other  blacks  from 
enjoying  the  same  privilege.  Whether  they  will  be 
able  to  continue  doing  so  after  the  completion  of  this 
railway  by  the  French  is  very  doubtful.  Already 
the  French  themselves  have  had  to  sufler  the  con- 
sequences of  their  own  indiscretion,  and  their  en- 
gineering operations  have  been  hampered  incessantly 
by  the  recklessness  and  violence  of  the  natives  whom 
French  traders  have  supplied  with  guns.  To  con- 
template the  possibility  of  the  importation  being 
extended  to  the  whole  of  the  interior  of  North-East 
Africa  is  to  contemplate  a  frightful  menace  to  the 
domination  of  the  white  races. 

And  against  whom  do  the  Abyssinians  need  arms  ? 
They  have  already  quite  sufficient  for  their  own  local 


3i6 


ABYSSINIA 


needs  and  the  control  of  subject  races.  Of  course  the 
idea  of  the  French  has  been  to  arm  MeneHk  aQ^ainst 
England,  and  at  the  time  of  Fashoda  they  actually  flat- 
tered themselves  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  sending 
out  an  army  to  support  Marchand.  They  now  realise 
that  he  is  unlikely  ever  to  assume  the  offensive,  but 
they  go  on  sending  arms,  and  they  hope  that  after 
his  death  there  will  be  a  period  of  anarchy,  which 
w^ill  provide  them  with  an  excuse  for  stepping  in  and 
utilising  their  own  imports. 

Menelik  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  fire- 
arms, and  one  of  his  chief  ambitions  is  to  possess 
artillery.  It  was  largely  to  gratify  this  that  he  gave 
the  concession  at  all,  and  he  has  probably  imposed 
onerous  conditions  as  to  the  free  transport  of  his  own 
merchandise.  As  he  is  essentially  a  merchant  prince, 
he  is  certain  to  take  advantage  of  this  to  an  extent 
which  would  in  any  case  make  profit  for  the  share- 
holders out  of  the  question. 

But  even  if  Menelik  had  made  no  such  stipulation, 
the  shareholders  are  still  bound  to  lose  their  money. 
Enormous  sums  have  been  lavished  upon  the  con- 
struction of  the  line  and  the  fifty  or  sixty  miles  now 
complete  have  been  very  well  and  at  the  same  time 
very  expensively  constructed.  But  as  the  company 
has  been  some  four  years  over  this,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  ground  covered  is  easy  level  country, 
fully  a  generation  or  two  must  elapse,  and  millions 
of  money  be  spent  before  the  line  can  ever  be 
complete.  Indeed  people  have  already  begun  to 
dub  the  enterprise  "a  small  Panama." 


HOMEWARD  HO 


317 


Even  if  it  were  completed,  whence  are  adequate 
returns  to  come?  The  trade  of  Harrar  is  now  at  its 
zenith  and  even  bv  securing  that  the  railwav  would 
not  make  a  decent  profit.  Every  year  more  and 
more  of  the  trade  of  Harrar  is  being  diverted  into 
other  directions.  All  the  important  Abyssinian  mer- 
chants have  already  begun  to  take  the  route  by 
Gallabat,  which  is  likely  to  be  the  junction  of  the 
railway  along  the  Blue  Nile  from  Khartoum.  The 
Kassala-Suakim  railway,  when  finished,  will  also  divert 
a  great  deal  of  trade.  Experts  on  the  spot  assure 
me  that  in  two  or  three  years  the  Harrar  trade  will 
be  simply  a  local  one,  amounting  at  the  outside  to 
one-fourth  or  one-fifth  of  its  present  insufficient 
amount. 

This  is  the  commercial  aspect  of  the  railway. 
Unless  the  French  Government  steps  in,  the  line 
can  never  be  completed,  and  the  only  reason  likely 
to  induce  the  French  Government  to  do  so  is  to 
obtain  a  political  foothold  in  Abyssinia.  It  is,  how- 
ever, realising  more  and  more  every  day  the  hope- 
lessness of  such  an  aspiration,  and  as  it  has  not 
intervened  ere  this,  it  is  unlikely  to  attempt  to  do  so 
at  the  eleventh  hour.  But  whether  it  does  or  does 
not  intervene,  the  shareholders  are  still  bound  to 
lose  their  money.  French  officials  are  always  ready 
to  admit  that  they  care  a  great  deal  about  politics 
and  very  little  about  trade,  and  it  has  never  been 
their  wont  to  put  themselves  out  to  advance  the 
commerce  of  their  compatriots,  except  as  an  accident 
in  the  details  of  their  high  policy. 


3i8 


ABYSSINIA 


My  conclusion,  then,  is  that,  for  the  sake  of  our 
SomaH  subjects,  for  the  sake  of  Aden,  and  for  the 
sake  of  our  prestige  in  Xorth-East  Africa,  we  must 
do  our  best  to  thwart  a  commercial  railway,  which 
can  only  impoveri^.h  its  shareholders  ;  and  that,  for 
the  security  of  our  Soudanese  Empire  and  of  our 
future  good  relations  with  Abyssinia,  the  French 
Government  must  be  given  clearly  to  understand  that 
no  further  encroachments  and  illicit  importation  of 
arms  will  be  tolerated  here  for  the  future. 

Meanwhile  we  should  push  on  our  own  railways 
into  Abyssinia  from  the  west,  and  construct  the  line 
from  Berbera  to  Jigjiga,  which  would  tap  all  the 
commerce  of  the  rich  tracts  of  country  to  the  south 
of  the  Abyssinian  capital. 

As  to  the  plan  of  campaign  to  be  undertaken,  it 
would  be  rash  to  put  our  enemies  on  the  alert.  One 
simple  and  obx  ious  stroke  would  be  to  induce  Menelik 
to  revoke  his  concession  for  the  F'rench  railway. 
This  he  could  easily  do  on  the  ground  that  it  has 
not  been  finished  within  the  specified  time.  I  am  of 
opinion  that  we  ought  to  become  possessed  of  French 
Somaliland  either  by  purchase,  or,  better  still,  if  the 
promised  war  comes,  by  conquest.  In  the  hands  of 
the  French  it  can  never  come  to  anything,  but  may 
cause  us  a  orood  deal  of  unnecessarv  annovance. 

I  have  been  informed  on  good  authority  that  the 
French,  despairing  for  the  future  of  their  railway, 
might  be  induced  to  exchange  it  for  some  of  our 
territory  in  West  Africa.  This  deserves  the  atten- 
tion of  the   Foreign  Office,   but    I   am   inclined  to 


HOMEWARD  HO 


319 


fancy  that  a  very  hard  bargain  would  be  driven. 
Considering"  how  seriously  they  have  set  to  work  to 
obtain  this  foothold  at  the  avenue  to  Abyssinia,  and 
how  loudly  they  have  boasted  about  it,  it  would  be 
a  great  confession  of  failure  if  the  French  sacrificed 
it  all  cheaply. 

They  began  by  creeping  into  Obock,  which  is 
situated  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay  from  Jibuti. 
Here  they  started  their  usual  paraphernalia  of  officials 
and  buildings,  but  they  soon  found  that  Obock  led 
nowhere,  controlled  nothing,  and  could  never  be  made 
even  into  a  decent  coaling  station.  So  after  a  while 
they  cast  about  and  established  a  dependency  of 
Obock  at  Jibuti,  where  they  have  been  able  to  con- 
struct an  excellent  harbour  and  conjure  up  visions  of 
one  successful  colony  at  last,  and  that  colony  at  the 
entrance  to  an  empire  which  may  one  day  produce 
incalculable  riches.  What  an  excellent  answer,  they 
fondly  imagine,  Jibuti  may  be  to  Aden. 

The  idea  of  controlling  both  ends  of  the  Red  Sea 
has  always  been  a  favourite  one  with  French  poli- 
ticians. Their  failure  to  secure  the  sole  control  of  the 
Suez  Canal  made  them  feel  very  sore,  and  one  fine 
day  it  occurred  to  some  official  in  Paris  to  look  at 
a  map  and  discover  the  existence  of  a  barren,  derelict 
island  called  Perim,  almost  in  the  middle  of  the 
Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb.  The  story  of  the  attempt 
of  the  French  to  instal  themselves  there  is  amusino-. 

It  appears  that  Perim  had  once  upon  a  time  be- 
longed to  England,  but  so  ungrateful  was  the  soil, 
so  unpopular  the  station,  and  apparently  so  unneces- 


320 


ABYSSINIA 


sary  the  occupation  of  an  island  where  we  had  no 
rivalry  to  fear  from  anybody,  that  it  was  quietly 
abandoned.  Accordingly,  it  was  in  the  power  of  any 
nation  who  chose  to  appropriate  it.  It  would  have 
been  a  moot  point  in  international  law,  whether  we 
should  have  had  any  right  to  protest  against  the 
seizure  of  an  island  where  we  had  not  troubled  to 
maintain  effective  possession.  So  a  French  lieutenant 
set  out  in  a  gunboat  to  hoist  the  tricolour  upon  the 
highest  rock  in  Perim.  On  his  way  he  landed  at 
Aden,  and  went  up  to  pay  his  respects,  like  a  polite 
Frenchman,  to  the  General.  He  was  invited  to 
dinner,  and  the  small  hours  of  the  morning  found  him 
still  sipping  long  drinks  in  a  long  chair  in  the  pretty 
courtyard  of  the  residency.  Aden  is  one  of  the 
thirstiest  places  in  the  world,  and  the  lieutenant  soon 
became  confidential.  The  General  redoubled  his 
amiability  and  insisted  upon  further  refreshments, 
snatching  only  a  couple  of  minutes  to  send  off  a 
message  to  the  captain  of  a  Royal  Indian  Marine 
Ship  in  the  harbour. 

The  next  day  the  lieutenant  woke  up  with  a  bad 
headache  and  set  out  in  his  gunboat  to  take  posses- 
sion of  Perim.  What,  then,  was  his  mortification, 
when  he  arrived  there  to  find  the  Union  Jack  already 
floating  from  the  topmost  peak,  and  to  be  asked  by 
the  roguish  captain  of  the  Indian  ship  what  refresh- 
ment he  would  be  pleased  to  accept  on  British  soil. 

There  is  another  little  anecdote  about  Perim  which 
I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  here.  Having  annexed 
the  island  once  more,  we  were  bound  to  put  in  a 


HOMEWARD  HO 


321 


garrison,  and  various  Aden  subalterns  had  to  take  it 
in  turn  to  act  as  Governor  for  a  year.  They  hated 
it  horribly,  and  counted  the  hours  until  their  term  of 
exile  should  be  ended.  One  fine  day,  however,  the 
War  Office  was  amazed  to  find  that  a  subaltern, 
whose  year  had  expired,  applied  to  have  it  renewed. 
He  seemed  to  have  done  his  work  very  well  there, 
for  his  reports  had  come  in  with  unfailing  regularity, 
and  as  no  one  else  wanted  to  take  his  place  his  desire 
to  remain  was  cordially  welcomed.  The  next  year 
the  same  thing  happened,  and  the  War  Office  was 
still  more  surprised.  At  last,  however,  after  this  had 
gone  on  for  five  years,  surprise  gave  way  to  suspicion, 
and  some  one  was  despatched  to  find  out  what  could 
possibly  be  the  motive  for  so  persistent  an  appreciation 
of  so  impossible  a  post.  Then  the  fat  was  in  the  fire, 
for  the  Governor  of  Perim  was  eventually  unearthed  at 
his  club  in  Piccadilly,  from  which  during  all  this  time 
he  had  posted  his  despatches  to  be  sent  home  again 
from  Perim  to  the  W  ar  Of^ce. 

What  most  impressed  me  at  Jibuti  was  the  extra- 
ordinary change  in  the  behaviour  of  the  natives. 
At  Aden,  at  Zaila,  even  in  the  depths  of  the  desert, 
the  Somalis  were  always  amiable  and  respectful. 
Here  men  of  the  very  same  tribes  might  have  be- 
longed to  an  utterly  different  race.  To  them  the 
European  seemed  a  general  butt,  provided  by  Provi- 
dence for  their  special  diversions. 

I  had  scarcely  landed  when  a  crowd  of  youths 
danced  mockingly  around  me,  clamouring  for  bakshish. 
In  spite  of  my  threatening  stick,  they  trod  on  my 

Y 


322 


ABYSSINIA 


heels  all  the  way  to  the  hotel,  where  they  made  sallies 
into  the  verandah  while  I  was  drinking  my  coffee. 
During  my  whole  stay  at  the  place  I  was  subjected 
to  every  kind  of  annoyance  wherever  I  went,  and  I 
was  told  by  French  residents  that  if  I  had  struck  one 
of  my  persecutors  I  should  have  been  had  up  in  the 
police-court  and  made  to  pay  a  heavy  fine.  When  I 
was  actually  leaving,  the  Somali  who  had  brought 
some  of  my  luggage  on  board  clamoured  for  payment 
almost  before  I  had  had  tim^e  to  discover  my  cabin. 
As  I  was  putting  my  hand  into  my  pocket  to  satisfy 
him,  he  stared  rudely  at  me  and  said,  Abaos.''  It 
was,  of  course,  long  odds  against  an  Englishman 
coming  on  board  a  liner  at  Jibuti  knowing  a  word  of 
Somali,  and  the  fellow  probably  flattered  himself  that 
he  was  quite  safe  in  insulting  me  in  his  own  language, 
and  that  his  having  done  so  would  amuse  all  his 
friends  for  a  long  time  to  come.  I  had,  however, 
been  long  enough  amongst  Somalis  to  know  that  this 
was  the  rudest  word  in  their  vocabulary,  and  that 
when  they  applied  it  to  each  other  it  generally  meant 
bloodshed.  So  I  put  back  the  coins  I  had  intended 
to  give  him,  found  out  the  fellow's  name,  and  entrusted 
the  landlord  of  the  hotel,  who  was  seeing  me  off,  with 
a  formal  protest  to  be  laid  before  the  police.  What 
happened  afterwards  I  never  heard. 

It  was  indeed  heart-breaking  to  find  my  dear 
Somalis  transformed  in  this  way,  and  I  think  that 
nothing  in  all  my  experience  of  Frenchmen  and  French 
colonies  has  ever  convinced  me  so  conclusively  of  the 
hopeless  incapacity  of  the  modern  Frenchman  as  a 


HOMEWARD  HO 


323 


ruler  of  men.  If  this  was  the  result  of  a  few  years' 
contact  with  the  most  charming  of  blacks,  how  would 
France  fare  if  she  were  set  to  deal  with  less  pre- 
possessing subjects  ? 

Most  people  only  know  Abyssinia  as  a  pawn  in 
the  great  game  of  international  politics,  so  something 
must  be  said  as  to  the  present  state  of  affairs.  This 
seems  to  have  been  very  bad  until  quite  recently. 
The  French  and  Russians,  having  a  far  keener  nose 
than  ourselves  for  a  good  thing  in  politics,  set  to  work 
very  early  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  a  country  which 
might  easily  become  a  menace  to  our  operations  in 
Egypt  and  the  Soudan.  We  were  further  handi- 
capped by  an  alleged  alliance  with  Italy,  whom  we 
had  certainly  encouraged  in  her  predatory  attitude 
against  the  Negus.  Italy  having  failed,  a  disposition 
to  associate  us  with  her  failure  discounted  us  still 
further.  Then  came  the  Rennell  Rodd  mission  to 
Menelik,  which  has  been  described  more  or  less 
superficially  by  Count  Gleichen  in  his  book.  I  am 
inclined  to  consider  that  this  mission  was  regarded 
as  a  failure  at  the  time,  for  Menelik  had  then  been 
taught  by  our  enemies  to  think  little  of  England,  and 
he  saw  no  reason  for  acceding  to  any  concessions. 
He  may  have  made  vague,  general  professions  of 
friendship,  but  we  certainly  obtained  nothing  more, 
and  in  return  we  somewhat  weakly  agreed  to  a  fresh 
delimitation  of  the  frontiers,  whereby  we  abandoned 
to  Abyssinia  not  merely  our  ancient  claim  to  Harrar, 
but  also  the  greater  part  of  British  Somaliland.  It 
remains  a  disputed  point  whether  or  no  Somaliland, 


324 


ABYSSINIA 


with  its  wide  stretches  of  desert  and  restless  nomadic 
population,  was  worth  retaining.  Judging  from  the 
success  of  the  Somali  coast  administration  and  its 
effect  upon  British  prestige  throughout  North- East 
Africa,  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  we  were  mistaken 
in  abandoning  the  territory.  We  certainly  wronged 
those  of  our  Somali  subjects  who  had  loyally  supported 
our  Government  when  we  transferred  them  without 
any  desire  on  their  part  to  the  alien  rule  of  the 
Negus. 

But  the  mission  was  not  altogether  in  vain,  seeing 
that  it  paved  the  way  for  a  permanent  diplomatic 
agency,  which,  by  the  sagacity  of  Captain  Har- 
rington, has  raised  England  to  a  position  equal,  if 
not  superior,  to  that  of  her  rivals  in  the  eyes  of 
Abyssinia.  Flags  show  which  way  the  wind  blows, 
and  it  is  significant  that  at  Harrar  the  French  and 
Russians  have  vainly  craved  leave  to  hoist  their 
standards,  while  the  British  flag  floats  regularly  as  a 
matter  of  course  over  the  British  Consular  Agency. 

Menelik  is  not  insensible  to  blarney,  and  for  some 
time  he  believed  that  the  French  were  really  very 
agreeable  people,  but  he  grew  tired  of  them  when  he 
found  how  little  they  were  to  be  trusted  and  how  un- 
scrupulous they  were  in  securing  an  advantage  over 
their  rivals,  however  mean  and  temporary  it  might  be. 
Thus,  for  instance,  at  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Khartoum, 
they  sent  up  news  to  him  that  16,000  English  had  been 
killed  and  the  rest  of  our  army  put  to  rout.  When, 
a  day  or  so  later,  the  news  came  to  him  that  we  had 
only  lost  323  men  and  that  we  had  taken  Khartoum, 


HOMEWARD  HO 


325 


he  exclaimed,  What  Hars  these  French  are  !  "  and 
he  vowed  he  would  never  believe  them  again. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  dealing  with  Englishmen 
he  has  felt,  as  even  our  worst  enemies  do,  that,  what- 
ever our  other  shortcomings,  we  may  be  trusted. 
This  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  main  reasons  of  the 
permanence  of  our  success  in  the  world,  and  more 
than  counterbalances  that  inability  to  fawn  and 
squirm,  which  has  earned  us  the  dislike  of  the  dregs 
of  Europe. 

There  have  been  so  many  rumours  about  the 
intentions  of  Abyssinia,  whenever  certain  foreign 
newspapers  have  been  hard  up  for  a  sensation,  that 
the  average  reader  knows  not  what  to  believe.  One 
day  we  hear  that  Menelik  is  prepared  to  accept  a 
Russian  protectorate,  being  persuaded  that  Russia  is 
so  far  off  that  she  can  never  seriously  interfere  with 
him  ;  then  we  are  told  that  England  and  Italy  are 
meditating  a  raid  into  Abyssinia,  which  they  propose 
to  partition  ;  or  Menelik  is  about  to  seize  some  oppor- 
tunity of  embarrassing  us  by  invading  the  Soudan  at 
the  head  of  40,000  men. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  what  Menelik  most  desires  is 
to  be  left  alone.  He  is  now  fifty-eight  years  of  age, 
and  has  sown  all  his  political  wild  oats  in  his  youth. 
It  was  a  sufficiently  arduous  task  to  creep  up  from  a 
comparatively  humble  position  to  that  of  King  of 
Kings,  and  his  ambitions  are  now  practically  ex- 
hausted. If  there  were  any  menace  to  his  throne 
or  his  dominions,  he  would  be  alert  to  defend 
them.      But  he    has   no   idea  of  enlarging  them. 


326 


ABYSSINIA 


unless  he  were  tempted  by  some  diplomatic  wind- 
fall. So  long  as  he  lives  there  is  likely  to  be  a 
profound  calm,  unless  by  any  chance  the  French 
complete  their  railway  from  Jibuti  and  give  way  to 
a  sudden  impulse  of  aggression.  Or  if  the  Mad 
Mullah  or  some  other  Moslem  prophet  arises  in  the 
desert  and  sweeps  Abyssinia,  it  may  become  our  duty 
to  rectify  our  Egyptian  frontier.  But  within  the 
range  of  ordinary  probabilities  it  is  safe  to  say  of 
Abyssinia,  as  of  Turkey,  Austria,  Bulgaria,  and  other 
countries  which  possess  a  great  statesman  for  their 
sovereign,  that  it  is  secure  until  the  next  demise  of  the 
crown.  Then  there  will  be  no  knowina-  what  anorler 
may  not  deem  the  moment  opportune  for  trying  his 
luck  in  the  troubled  waters  of  civil  war. 

We  in  Egypt  must  be  prepared  for  events,  as  we 
have  already  spent  sufficient  blood  and  treasure  in 
consolidating  our  empire  there.  We  cannot  put  up 
with  any  turbulence  upon  our  frontier,  and  should  it 
be  threatened,  we  shall  do  well  to  take  action  too 
early  rather  than  too  late.  Whether  it  would  serve 
our  policy  to  scheme  deliberately  for  an  eventual 
occupation  of  Abyssinia  is  another  question,  which  I 
am  not  prepared  to  resolve  definitely.  It  might 
serve  the  interests  of  the  Abyssinian  land  and 
people,  but  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  and 
many  do  not  see  whence  our  reward  would  come  for 
the  ereat  effort  which  would  be  necessarv.  A  siornifi- 
cant  remark  was  made  on  this  subject  by  a  Frenchman 
at  the  hotel  at  Harrar,  who  said  he  and  his  friends 
would  welcome  an  occupation    of   the   country  by 


HOMEWARD  HO  327 

British  or  Italian  and  any  other  European  people,  so 
long  as  the  country  were  opened  up  to  trade  and 
civilisation.  I  told  him  that  we  already  had  plenty 
of  fruit  in  and  near  our  own  orchards  without  wanting 
to  come  so  far  afield  to  pluck  an  unripe  pear. 

I  do  not  see  why  we  should  not  build  a  railway 
up  from  Berbera  and  open  up  the  trade  of  the  country 
for  the  benefit  alike  of  Somaliland  and  Aden,  nor  why 
such  a  railway  should  not  be  connected  with  the  Cape 
to  Cairo  line  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Fashoda.  But  the  work  of  disciplining  a  mountainous 
country  with  scarcely  a  road  in  it,  though  all  very 
well  if  we  had  nothing  else  to  think  about,  would  be 
to  risk  involving  ourselves  at  a  period  in  our  Imperial 
history  when  we  need  to  be  most  on  the  alert.  Fools 
build  houses  for  wise  men  to  live  in,  and  we  are  not 
going  to  add  fresh  storeys  to  our  empire  to  provide 
tenements  for  any  Latin  vagabond. 

It  is  a  frequent  complaint  nowadays  that  the  limits 
of  exploration  have  nearly  been  reached,  and  that 
there  is  nothing  new  to  be  observed  under  the  sun, 
even  in  surprising  Africa.  I  believe,  however,  that 
if  any  one  chose  to  devote  time  and  enterprise  to 
going  a  few  days  or  weeks  off  the  beaten  track 
between  the  coast  and  the  Abyssinian  capital,  he 
might  find  much  to  repay  him.  For  instance,  I  was 
told  that  there  exists  a  village  of  anthropophagi 
within  two  hours  of  Harrar.  Of  course  there  would 
be  no  advantage  in  going  over  there  for  an  afternoon 
or  a  picnic,  as  the  natives  would  scarcely  be  likely  to 
exhibit  their  private  propensities  for  the  gratification 


328 


ABYSSINIA 


of  a  stranger,  or  press  him  to  take  pot-luck.  Again 
I  was  told  that  there  are  two  or  three  towns  each 
as  big  as  Harrar,  some  a  few  hours  and  some  six 
days  away,  quite  unknown  to  maps  and  Europeans. 
One  of  them  is  called  Bursum.  The  Abyssinian 
authorities,  of  course,  know  about  them,  but  they  do 
all  in  their  power  to  prevent  travellers  from  visiting 
them.  Still,  I  believe  that  with  a  certain  amount  of 
perseverance  it  might  not  be  impossible  to  go  there. 

Ziquala  should  also  be  visited  by  any  one  who  has 
a  week  or  so  to  spare  from  his  stay  at  Addis  Ababa. 
There  are  a  number  of  hermitages  scattered  over  a 
volcanic  mountain,  in  the  crater  of  which  is  a  mys- 
terious black  lake.  The  hermits  have  many  strange 
ancient  customs,  and  seem  to  have  been  settled  there 
from  time  immemorial.  If  research  could  be  made  in 
their  churches  and  archives  it  might  bring  many 
interesting  surprises  to  light,  but  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  obtain  many  powerful  recommendations  from 
the  court,  as  the  hermits  are  even  more  positively 
convinced  than  the  average  Abyssinian  that  no  other 
people  beside  their  own  can  possibly  be  Christian. 

The  journey  through  from  Addis  Ababa  to  Mas- 
sowa,  which  Captain  Cotton,  whom  I  met  on  the  road, 
has  been  undertaking,  also  sounds  a  very  tempting 
one,  particularly  as  no  one  from  Europe  has  accom- 
plished it  since  the  days  of  Prester  John  and  the 
Portuguese  missionaries.  It  would  include  a  visit  to 
the  King  of  Gojam,  who  may  perhaps  never  have 
seen  a  white  man  ;  to  Tsana  Lake,  where  scarcely  any 
explorer  has  ever  penetrated  ;  to  Aksum  and  other 


HOMEWARD  HO 


329 


ruined  cities ;  and  to  the  perpetual  snows,  glaciers, 
&c.,  of  the  north  of  Abyssinia,  which  are  entirely 
unexplored.  A  traveller  would  find  all  sorts  of  new 
peoples,  new^  habits,  and  new  conditions  of  life,  which 
might  be  of  the  utmost  importance  to  ethnology. 
There  are  the  Samien  people,  about  whom  nothing 
is  known.  Menelik  himself  remarked  the  other  day 
that  he  woLild  be  very  grateful  for  information  about 
them.  There  is  also  a  colony  of  aboriginal  Jews  up  in 
the  mountains  of  Tigre.  They  live  in  pastoral  fashion, 
like  the  old  Hebrew  patriarchs,  upon  the  produce  of 
the  flocks  and  herds.  They  have  been  there  for 
centuries,  perhaps  even  for  thousands  of  years,  and 
the  Abyssinians  confess  that  they  have  always  failed 
to  dislodge  them  from  their  inaccessible  fastnesses. 

And  the  promise  of  sport  is  very  encouraging. 
The  Abyssinian  ibex  has  never  been  seen  alive  in 
Europe,  and  the  people  who  possess  its  head  are 
extremely  few.^  There  is  one  in  the  Natural  History 
Museum,  and  another  in  the  possession  of  a  Roths- 
child, but  I  have  not  succeeded  in  tracing  any  others 
in  England.  Indeed,  no  one  appears  to  know  any- 
thing about  the  animal  except  the  vague  information 
that  it  comes  from  somewhere  in  Abyssinia.  There 
are  also  rumours  of  an  Abyssinian  bear,  which  it 
would  be  very  interesting  to  verify,  for  most  people 
believe  that  bears  do  not  exist  in  Africa.  The 
Emperor  Menelik  said  that  he  had  heard  of  these 
bears,  but  had  never  seen  one,  nor  met  anybody  who 

'  Captain  Cotton,  who  has  just  returned  to  Europe,  tells  me  that 
he  secured  this  ibex. 


330 


ABYSSINIA 


had  seen  one.  He  was,  however,  positive  as  to  the 
existence  of  some  strange  animal  in  the  north.  It  had 
been  described  to  him  as  Hke  a  hyena,  only  larger  and 
heavier,  with  short  legs  and  very  thick  fur.  There  is 
also  an  Abyssinian  buffalo,  which  forms  a  distinct 
species  and  would  afford  a  very  pleasing  trophy  to 
an  enterprising  sportsman.  Saving  for  the  roughness 
of  the  road  and  the  vagaries  of  the  climate,  there 
would  be  little  to  deter  a  traveller.  The  natives 
of  course  only  admit  a  shadowy  allegiance  to 
Menelik,  and  they  are  probably  very  often  at  war 
among  themselves,  but  they  are  not  of  a  dangerous 
temperament,  and  would  have  no  reason  to  molest 
a  stranger  who  kept  aloof  from  their  feuds. 

Down  in  the  south  of  Abyssinia,  particularly  where 
Count  Leontieff  has  devastated  a  province,  there 
would  probably  be  more  danger ;  but  even  so,  I 
imagine  that,  with  proper  precautions  and  a  sufficient 
retinue,  all  would  go  well.  There  would  at  any  rate 
be  far  finer  opportunities  for  incidents  than  on  the 
beaten  track,  and  the  sportsman  would  be  gratified  with 
unspoiled  hunting  grounds  to  his  full  heart's  desire. 

But  for  the  most  adventurous  spirits  of  all  I  can 
confidently  recommend  a  trip  to  the  Ogaden  country. 
All  the  best  beasts  teem  there,  and  the  people  are 
decidedly  sportsmen.  A  traveller  is  sure  to  find 
legitimate  opportunities  for  a  baptism  of  fire  ;  and  if 
he  be  a  bit  of  a  diplomatist  as  well  as  a  bit  of  a 
soldier,  he  may  obtain  access  to  the  Mad  Mullah, 
perhaps  the  most  interesting  personage  in  Africa 
after  the  great  and  mysterious  Snussi. 


HOMEWARD  HO 


331 


When  I  was  at  Harrar  in  February  I  heard  nothing 
new  about  him.  On  my  way  down  to  the  coast  I  was 
overtaken  by  a  rumour  that  he  was  within  two  days' 
march  of  that  town  and  intended  to  attack  it  imme- 
diately. I  dismissed  this  as  one  of  the  many  fables 
which  serve  to  while  away  the  tedium  of  the  desert. 
But  on  reaching  Zaila  I  found  it  was  perfectly  true, 
and  that  very  serious  developments  were  imminent. 

Here  is  his  story  in  a  nutshell.  Some  years  ago 
Muhammed  bin  Abdullah  was  a  peaceable  citizen  of 
Berbera.  He  owned  several  houses  and  camels,  and 
the  Somalis  looked  up  to  him  as  a  man  of  singular 
piety  who  had  performed  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca 
several  times.  He  was  even  in  favour  with  the 
British  authorities,  having  often  exercised  his  influ- 
ence to  settle  small  disputes  and  pacify  small  dis- 
contents. Early  in  1899,  however,  his  influence 
had  grown  dangerous,  and  it  was  found  necessary 
to  check  him  for  interfering  with  matters  outside  his 
tribe.  He  grew  restive  and  incited  the  Somalis  to 
resist  the  zareba  tax,  a  toll  which  the  head  of  a  tribe 
had  been  allowed  to  collect  since  the  establishment  of 
the  protectorate.  Being  given  to  understand  that  this 
would  not  be  tolerated,  he  started  a  rebellion,  appeal- 
ing to  the  natives  chiefly  on  religious  grounds.  His 
fanaticism  grew  with  giant  strides,  and  he  gathered 
round  him  large  mobs  of  turbulent  people  ;  it  was 
even  rumoured  that  he  intended  to  attack  Berbera. 
But  he  disappeared  further  and  further  away  into  the 
interior  until  every  one  imagined  he  must  be  lost. 
Now,  however,  it  appears  that  he  has  been  all  this 


332 


ABYSSINIA 


while  in  the  Ogaden  country,  where  Menelik's  rule 
has  never  been  more  than  nominal.  Xot  longr  ao^o 
the  Negus  sent  an  army  against  his  vassals  there, 
but  30,000  savages,  armed  only  with  spears,  succeeded 
in  annihilating  it.  The  arms  and  ammunition  thus 
obtained  rendered  the  Ogadenese  a  very  different 
people  to  deal  with,  and  until  the  other  day  the 
Abyssinians  did  not  venture  on  any  attempt  to 
retrieve  their  disaster.  Meanwhile  the  Mullah  pro- 
ceeded to  oroanise  these  savages  and  inflated  their 
fanaticism.  It  is  true  that  the  Garasmach  of  Harrar 
has  now  put  to  flight  a  vanguard  which  advanced 
prematurely,  but  the  Mullah  was  not  present,  and  he 
has  retired  into  the  wild  country  like  another  Osman 
Ditrna.  He  constitutes  a  menace  not  merelv  to 
Abyssinia,  but  also  to  trade  and  civilisation  through- 
out the  north-east  of  Africa.  Any  day  Abyssinia 
may  find  herself  face  to  face  with  a  grave  peril 
similar  to  that  which  taxed  our  enero^ies  for  so 
many  years  in  the  Soudan. 

Harrar  is  practically  the  only  avenue  for  caravans 
approaching  the  Abyssinian  capital  from  the  east, 
and,  once  the  Mullah  established  himself  in  its 
vicinity,  he  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  dislodge, 
and  mioht  work  incalculable  harm.  Nav,  he  mioht 
go  further  and  enlist  the  Gallas,  whom  the  Abyssinians 
have  only  kept  in  subjection  so  long  by  withholding 
firearms.  Together,  Gallas  and  Ogadenese,  provided 
with  rifles,  could  sweep  Abyssinia  from  south  to  north, 
and  the  Mullah  would  prove  no  less  troublesome  a 
neighbour  to  Egypt  than  the  Mahdi  or  the  Khalifa. 


APPENDIX  I 


ITINERAR  Y 

I  GIVE  the  homeward  journey,  because  it  is  a  fair  sample  of  what 
may  be  done  when  the  roads  are  fair  and  there  is  no  undue  delay. 
My  itinerary  is  quick,  but  not  too  hard  going.  On  my  way  up,  the 
mulemen  and  the  quagmires  delayed  me  so  many  days  that  my 
time-table  would  be  useless.  I  append  the  readings  of  a  ther- 
mometer, in  which  I  have  no  great  confidence,  and  some  altitudes, 
which  were  given  me  I  know  not  by  whom. 

I  left  Addis  Ababa  on  the  31st  of  January,  1900,  and  camped — 


On  1 

1 

At 

\fter  a 
march  of 

Altitude 

Fahrenheit  I 

i 

Hrs.  Mill. 

Ft. 

Max. 

Min. 

Same  night 

Rogge 

3  25 

82° 

36° 

(  Delayed  bymule- 

Feb.  I 

Chaffe  Dunsa 

4  45 

7386 

78° 

45° 

-  men  ;  road  fairly 

(  good 

■ 2 

Godaburka 

5  30 

5828 

87° 

55° 

3 

Minnabella 

4  5 

... 

95° 

56° 

4 

Between  Choba  and 

Tadechamalka 

5  30 

95° 
101° 

68° 

72° 

All  night  march 

„  6 

Kachinwaha 

14  5 

2947 

101° 

70° 

7 

Lagahardim 

6  10 

5391 

99° 

65° 

Very  steep 

„  8 

Galamso 

2  50 

5931 

85° 

56° 
49° 

9 

Borenia 

7  10 

5854 

76° 

,,  10 

Shola  Kunni 

5  10 

7894 

82° 

55° 

II 

Between  Dabasso 

and  Hirna 

5  25 

6878 

75° 

51° 

12 

Dullo  (or  Tiillo  ?) 

4  55 

90° 

43° 

M  13 

Derru 

5  5 

7650 

99° 

49° 

14 

Challenko 

4  45 

7062 

76° 

46° 

15 

Between  Worabili 

and  Garsa 

7  0 

76° 

58° 

Stony  downs 

16 

Harrar 

7  15 

6253^ 

89° 

59° 

18 

Balawa 

8  25 

...  j 

By  night 

19 

Gildessa 

4  40 

85° 

47° 

,,  20 

Arto 

2  30 

91° 

69° 

Delayed  by  rivers 

,,  21 

Dabbas 

8  35 

... 

22 

Bia  Kaboba 

8  50 

23 

Somadu 

8  30 

24 

Hensa 

8  25 

26 

Zaila 

17  10 

All  night  march 

The  journey  up  will  always  be  a  little  slower  by  reason  of  the 
ascent,  and,  in  the  case  of  a  first  journey,  by  reason  of  inexperience. 

333 


APPENDIX  II 


OUTFIT 

Camp  Outfit. — Each  traveller  will  take  one  tent,  and,  after  Somali- 
land,  the  servants  will  be  glad  of  another,  which  will  also  serve  as 
a  kitchen.  I  lay  in  a  green  Willesden  tent,  but  was  not  altogether 
satisfied  with  it.  A  white  Cabul  tent,  which  may  often  be  picked 
up  second-hand  at  Aden,  is  in  every  way  preferable,  and  it  is  a  safe 
statement  that  Indian  tent-makers  understand  their  business  better 
than  the  English.  I  had  occasion  to  regret  not  taking  a  waterproof 
ground-sheet.  My  tent  was  supposed  to  comprise  flooring,  but 
nothing  would  induce  this  to  meet  properly  in  the  middle.  My  bed 
was  very  uncomfortable,  and  I  must  caution  everybody  against  a 
cork  mattrass.  (Mem. :  Take  plenty  of  rugs,  blankets,  clean  sheets, 
and  towels.  A  waterproof  carriage-rug  is  always  useful.)  Any  sort 
of  garden-chair  and  folding-table  will  do ;  but,  like  everything  else, 
they  should  be  as  light  as  possible.  I  had  an  india-rubber  bath,  but 
should  try  a  tin  one  if  I  were  going  again  :  there  is  no  sense  of 
stability  about  india-rubber.  For  cooking,  almost  any  canteen  will 
do,  for  your  Somali  cook  creates  a  kitchen-range  out  of  little  else 
than  a  few  stones.  An  axe  will  be  required  for  cutting  fuel,  and 
some  pails  for  carrying  water.  Some  barrels  may  be  taken  for  the 
waterless  country,  but  I  believe  a  few  skins  or  bottles  would  suffice. 

Provisions  are  so  much  a  matter  of  taste  that  it  is  impossible  to 
dogmatise.  I  am  against  tinned  meats,  for  live  sheep  and  fowls  will 
be  taken  and  plenty  of  game  may  be  shot.  But  all  sorts  of  luxuries 
are  most  welcome  in  the  wilds.  I  advise  plenty  of  soups.  A  supply 
of  flour  and  hops  will  ensure  fresh  bread  all  the  way.  Tinned  milk 
and  butter  are  essential  and  by  no  means  so  nasty  as  they  sound. 
Tea,  sugar,  jam,  and  condiments  must  be  taken.  Brandy  and 
whiskey  occupy  a  comparatively  small  space,  but  pints  of  cham- 
pagne and  occasional  glasses  of  liqueur  are  very  welcome.  At  least 
three  bottles  of  soda-water  per  head  per  day  should  be  taken  frojn 

334 


APPENDIX 


335 


England^  though  they  are  cumbrous  and  expensive  to  carry.  Many 
take  sparklets,  but  they  do  not  sparkle  sufficiently  and  they  leave 
you  at  the  mercy  of  bad  water. 

Clothes. — Khaki  for  the  plains ;  plenty  of  wool  and  waterproofs 
for  Abyssinia.  A  pair  of  spurs  for  your  mule  and  capacious 
saddle-bags. 

Arms. — A  '303  and  a  shot-gun  will  suffice  for  those  who  have  no 
designs  upon  big  game.  It  is  not  necessary  to  arm  your  retinue, 
but  a  couple  of  five-guinea  rifles  may  be  added  as  a  precaution.  A 
revolver  is  also  useful  for  show. 

Medicines. — Quinine,  opium,  aperients,  sal  volatile,  antipyrine, 
lint,  bandages,  plaster,  carbolic  ointment,  sulphonal,  eye  lotion,  pure 
carbolic  acid  and  strychnine  pills  (in  case  of  snake-bite).  You  may 
be  expected  to  prescribe  for  natives  by  the  way.  Give  them  opium 
if  you  have  no  idea  what  ails  them. 

Packing-cases. — 22  x  14  X  13  inches,  each  with  a  padlock  and  a 
number. 


INDEX 


Abaxes,  65 

Abdi,  29,  30,  69,  74,  76,  77,  78, 
-    80,  82,  89,  96,  103,  no,  127, 
136,  148,  150,  152,  161,  164, 
191,  192,  225,  241,  253,  258-9, 
265,  277,  293,  313 
Abyssinia,  1-9,  37,  107-305,  317, 

318,  319,  323,  325,  326-30 
Abyssinian  language,  107,  125, 

163,  199,  211,  212,  213,  215, 
224,  251 
Abyssinians,  8,  43,  112,  117,  122, 

124,  130.  132,  141,  143.  149, 
152,  154,  171,  173,  176,  181, 
J83,  186,  187,  189,  190,  194, 
i95j  196-7?  202,  207,  210-25, 
227,  228-31,  235,  238,  241, 
242-50,  255,  267,  273,  274, 
275,  280,  281,  302,  315 

Addis  Ababa,  37,  124,  125,  128, 
163,  167,  168-197,  205,  206, 
207,  213,  215,  227,  239,  243, 
260,  270,  333 

Aden,  10-16,  18,  21,  26,  35,  37, 
61,  76,  117,   220,  307,  315, 

319,  320,  327 
Administration,  Abyssinian,  235- 

65  {see  also  Customs^  Officials, 

Fnso?ts,  &c.) 
Administration,  British,  44-57, 

108  [see  also  Eiiglajid) 
Agriculture,  120-3,  128 


Aksum,  I,  328 

Altar,  raising  an,  267-9 

Alula,  Ras,  7 

Antelope,  141,  142 

Anthills,  146,  147 

Anthropophagi,  327 

Aramaya,  Lake,  128 

Arms,  19,  20,  32,  115,  118,  162, 
166-7,  190,  198-9,  205,  211, 
216,  217,  221-2,  225-6,  227, 
237'  247,  248,  252,  287,  293- 
4.  315-6,  332,  335 

Army,  see  Soldiej's 

Art,  118,  197,  275,  279,  280, 
281-2 

Arto,  265,  298,  333 

Babies,  229-30 

Baglehole,  15 

Balawa,  104-6,  333 

Balchi,  267 

Band,  ]\Ienelik's,  207 

Banti,  Garasmach,  113,  125,  211, 

253-5 
Bards,  223-4,  266-7 
Barracks,  174,  246-7 
Bears,  329 
Bells,  286 

Bent,  Theodore,  i  t  7 
Berbera,  18,  35,  38-41,  56,  31S, 
327 

Bia  Kaboba,  50,  79,  146,  333 
337  Z 


338  I\I 

Birds,    79,    137,    141,  148-9, 
151 

Boats,  Somali,  308,  310 
Bonesetters,  217-8 
Books,    Abyssinian,    284,  287, 
288 

Borema,  166,  333 

Bread,  219,  278 

Bridge,  Hawash,  131 

British   Agency,  Addis  Ababa, 

169-71,  175,  215 
Buffalo,  330 
Building,  170-5 
Bulbar,  42 
Burka,  1 18,  165 
Burton,  Sir  R.,  24,  no 
Bustards,  79 
Butchers,  41,  96,  116-7 
Butter,  216,  231,  245,  334 
Butterflies,  137 

Cacti,  109,  128,  214 
Cairns,  61-2,  294-6 
Camelmen,    64-9,    77-83,  93, 

125,  219,  314 
Camels,  49,  64-9,  74,  76,  77,  80, 

82,  89,  157 
Cameron,  Captain,  3,  4 
Carpenters,  123 
Challenko,  151,  155,  161,  333 
Cheetahs,  37,  38 
Chits,  28-9,  31,  32,  61 
Choba,  256,  260-3.  333 
Christians  and  Christianity,  1 1 2, 

118,  266-90 
Christmas,  269 

Church  and  churches,  i,  3,  113, 

135.  173.  223,  275,  27S-90 
Ciccodicola,  Captain,  182-3,  -^9 
CHmate,  15,56,  120,  128,  i54-7> 
182 


Clothes,  96,  119,  128,  133,  156, 
i8r,  194,  202,  211,  220,  230, 
247,  250,  286,  335 

Coal,  124 

Coffee,  40,  121 

Coinage,  218,  238-42,  290 

Commissariat,  245 

Cotton,  Captain  Powell-,  171, 
328-9 

Courthouse,  Zaila,  52-6 
Creagh,  Ccneral,  18,  20 
Crosses,  118,  268,  270,  275,  276 
Crutches,   267,   270,   277,  286, 

287,  288 
Cuckoos,  137 

Custom-houses,  40,  94,  113,  249- 
5o>  253,  255,  257-65 

Dabbas,  299,  333 

Dances,  96-106,  223,  224,  266, 

270,  271,  287-8 
Derru,  163,  164,  165,  333 
Digdigs,  142 
Dirt,  i49»  231 

Diseases,  24,  90,   it6,  122-3, 

218,  223 
Diving,  57-8 
Divorce,  232 
Doctors,  186,  217-8,  312 
Dogs,  41,  115,  180-1,  201 
Donkeys,  96,  122,  19 1-2,  214 
Drugs,  see  Medicine 
Durgosh,  245-6 
Durra,  121,  123,  128,  164,  165 

Earpicks,  it8 
Education,  204 

Egypt   and  Egyptians,  2,  112, 

114,  122,  226,  326 
Elephants,  143.  192-3.  201,  222, 

223,  224 


Ix\DEX 


339 


England  and  English,  3,  4,  20, 
44,  47,  48,  52,  124,  177-8, 
182,  T92,  193,  200-r,  205, 
247-8,  253-5,  276,  314,  319- 

21,  323,  324,  325-7 
Entotto,  173,  184,  193,  280-4 
Epiphany,  266-9 
Exploration,  327-30 

Falasahs,  2,  329 
Feudalism,  216-7 
Filters,  22-3,  229 
Fish,  41 

Food,  22,  33,  75,  119,  164,  195, 
216,  223,   245-6,   250,  272, 

311.  334 

Forests,    129,    155,    156,  173, 

294 
Fords,  131 

Formalities  at  Aden,  18-21 
Fowls,  119,  128,  218-9 
Flag,  Abyssinian,  250 
FHes,  149-515  23T,  298,  305 
Flywhisks,  267 

French,  3,  21,44,  47,  4^,  52,  113, 
123,  132,  178-80,  182,  183-6, 
204,    206-7,   227,   248,  249, 

312,  314,  315,  317,  318,  320- 

3,  324-5^  326 
Fuel,  112,  124,  137,  173,  228 

Gallas,  5,  107,  112,  129,  171, 

225-7,  232,  332 
Games,  220-3 
Garrisons,  British,  37,  47-8 
Garsa,  160,  333 
(Gazelles,  142,  145,  311 
Cxerolimato,  J.,  it  1-2,  125,  126, 

127,  130,  255-7 
(  jhee,  see  Butter 
Gheez,  284 


(iildessa,  85,  88,  90-104,  107, 
108,  219,  250-3,  264,  265, 
296-7 

Glass,  123 

Gleichen,  Count,  269,  323 
Goblets,  118 
Gojam,  328 
Gold,  202 

Greeks,  154,  217,  225,- 284 
Guineafowl,  148 

Hair,  57,  58,  59,  62,  96,  102, 

1 18,  230-1 
Harold,  Lieut,  33,  34,  35,  42, 

AZ,  48.  49,  52,  53.  54,  5^, 
70,  306-9 
Harrar,  37,  48,  107-24,  128,  160, 
163,  190,  201,  214,  215,  217, 
232,  239,  240,  241,  244,  248, 
252,  253-7,  278-80,  317,  323, 

33I5  333 
Harrari,  112 

Harrington,  Captain,  22,  124, 
T45,  169,  171,  176-81,  192-3, 
194,  203,  209,  212,  271,  324 

Harrison,  J.  J.,  177,  203 

Hats,  190,  211,  216 

Flawash  River,  13  T,  132,  133,  134, 

301,  304,  305 
Hensa,  71,  76,  333 
Hirna,  166,  294 
History,  1-9 
Honey,  190,  209 
Horses,  12,  119,  134,  159,  180, 

181,  191-2,  201,  245,  247 
Hotels,  II,  26,  113-5,  \47,  311, 

313 
Hospital,  186 
Houses,  see  Tukiils 
Hyenas,  71,  93,  97,  115,  142, 

300 


340  IN 

Ibex,  204,  329 
Ilg,  M.,  243 

India  and  Indians,  11,  72,  117, 

178-9,  201,  205,  240,  241 
Insects,  75,  152-3 
Insults,  212-5 
Irrigation,  121 
Issas,  35 

Italy  and  Italians,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9, 
21,  182,  213-4,  217,  247, 
248-9,  280,  323,  325 

Jackals,  71,  97,  115,  129,  141-2 
Jesuits,  3 

Jewellery,  117,  118,190,  202,230 

{see  also  Orname??ts) 
Jews,  2,  12,  40 

Jibuti,  21,  48,   249,  308,  311, 

312-4,  315.  3^9,  321-3,  326 
Jigjiga,  318 

John,  Emperor,  5,  6,  7 
Jones,  Mr.,  42 
Joseph,  Atto,  257 
Junipers,  129 

Justice,  50-6,  116,  195,  242-4 

Kachinwaha,  305-33 
Kalendar,  269-70 
Kat,  218 

Kissing,  197,  212,  267,  285 
Kolubie,  160 

Koodoos,  142,  144,  145,  146 
Kunni,  155,  156,  166,  294,  333 

Lagahardim,  25,  256,  257-60, 

263 

Lagarde,  M.,  49,  183-6,  206-7 
Land,  122 

Landing  in  Somaliland,  39,  41, 
42,  309 

Languages,  138-9,  322  (see  also 
Abyssinian  language) 


Lakes,  128,  328 
Las  Ma'an,  77 

Leontieff,  Count,  119,  203,  330 
Lions,  79,  143,  146-8,  222,  223, 
224 

Locusts,  15 1-2 

Ma'anda,  70 
Magdala,  4,  5,  6,  181 
Maize,  121 

Makonnen,  Ras,  9,  113,  206,  236, 

278,  281 
Mangasha,  Ras,  7,  9 
Markets,   41,    96,    116-7,  175, 

187-92 
Marriage,  231-2 
Marsha,  Atto,  252 
Maskals,  266 

Massowa,  4,  6,  18,  21,  328 
Matches,  154,  156 
Mateb,  118,  137 

Medicine,  24,  122-3,  1S6,  218, 

298,  335  {see  also  Doctors) 
Menelik,  Emperor,  5-9,  124,  125, 

173'  177,  180,  184,  193-209, 
222,  235,  236,  239,  243,  247-8, 
270,  271,  281,  288,  316,  318, 
323,  324-6,  329 

Mills,  206 

Mimosas,  135,  136 

Mining,  124 

Minnabella,  135,  218,  333 
Monkeys,  130,  144-5,  21 1-2 
Monks,  273-4,  275-8,  328 
Mosquitoes,  24 
Moths,  75,  153 

Muhammadans,  2,  3,  29,  30,  32, 
93»  112,  115,  275,  277-8 

Mules,  73,  74,  84,  85,  89,  109, 
129,  13I5  158-60,  161,  191, 
286,  292,  293,  306 


Muleteers,  23,  125-7,  128,  135-6, 

157-67,  291-4,  295,  301-5 
Mullahs,  93,  322,  330-2 
Murder,  50,  61-3,  72,  102,  227 
Music  and  Musical  Instruments, 
96,    113,    118,    207,  223-4, 
266-7,  277,   282,    286,  287? 
289 

Xagadis  (see  Muleteers) 
Xapier,  Sir  R.,  4,  5,  181 

Obock,  319 

Officials,  94,  96,  no,  129,  1 88 J 

195,  237,  238,  250-65 
Ogaden,  118,  330,  332 
Orleans,  Prince  Henry  of,  232 
Ornaments,  40,  96,  1 1 7, 1 18,  229, 

249,  252  {see  also  Jeivei/erv) 
Oryx,  79 

Outfit,  19,  20,  21-4,  334 
Outposts,  82,  85,  107,  108,  250 
Oxen,  119,  122,  272 

Palace,  Menelik's,    169,  175, 

194-7,  205,  208 
Passports,  200,  256-7,  260,  262 
Perim,  37,  319-21 
Photography,  28,  40,  279 
Pillows,  Neck,  118,  231 
Playfair,  Sir  L.,  13,  14 
Portuguese,  2,  3 

Posts,  48-50,  160,  179,  i8t.  240 
Pottery,  123 

Presents,     195,    198-9,  218-9, 

251,  252-3,  258-60 
Priests,   204,   267-9,    271,  277, 

280,  282-3,  286-9 
Prisoners  and  prisons,  116,  238, 

244-5,  289-90 


t^A  341 

Railway,  119,  201,  313,  314-8, 

326,  327 
Rain,  154-7,  166,  296,  300,  306 
Rassam,  Mr.,  4 
Rats,  109,  114 
Rattles,  289 

Reggel,  33,  83-4,  88,  218,  251, 

293,  303 
Rivers  and  River-beds,  90,  93, 

131,  132,  133,  134,  264,  265, 

296-300 
Rodd,  Rennell.  323 
Rosary,  274 

Russians,  50,  182,  186,  197,  204, 
207,  248,  323,  324 

Sadler,  Colonel.  18,  19,  20, 

38,  41,  56 
Samiens,  329 
Salt,  14-5,  218,  239,  241 
Scavenging,  115 

Servants,  25-35,  119,  133,  213, 
216-7  {^^^  ^^-^^  Abdi^  J^^gg^^, 
Shikari,  Syce,  Te7it-boys) 

Shamma,  181,  207 

Sharks,  58,  309-11 

Sheba,  Queen  of,  i,  6,  197,  281, 
295 

Sheep,  84,  119,  121-2,  191,  225 
229 

Shikari,  30-2,  127,  136,  146,  164, 

275,  295 
Shoa,  2,  135,  235 
Shola,  163,  166 
Shonkora,  267 
Shouting,  220,  302 
Shums,  see  Officials 
Shum-shum,  11 
Snakes,  24-5,  153,  306 
Soldiers,  113,   174,  209,  245-9, 

25^ 


342 


INDEX 


Somadii,  250,  333 

Somaliland,  18,  19,  20,  24,  37, 
43'  44,  50-106,  177,  192,  314, 
318,  323,  324,  327 

Somalis,  11,  25,  26-84,  88,  96, 
107,  112,  it6,  117,  127,  132, 
137-9,  144,  151,  211,  220-3, 
224,  225,  227,  229,  233,  241, 
242,  275,  293,  295,  298,  302, 

311,  3H,  321-3,  324,  331 
Spies,  209,  273 

Sport,  119,  140-9,  185-6,  192-3, 

329-30 
Squirrels,  141 
Storms,  300-1 

Streets,  no,  11 1-2,  115,  116, 
175.  217 

Succession  to  the  Throne,  235-7 
Sunburn,  157 
Sunday,  187 
Sunstroke,  70-1 
Syce,  34,  73,  74,  84 

Tadechamalka,  25,   133,  153, 

301,  333 
Taitu,  Empress,  6,  7,  8,  9,  208-9, 

211,  281 
Tanks,  Aden,  13-4 
Taxation,  237-8 
Tej,  209,  216,  280 
Telephone,  116,  127-8,  129-31, 

156,  165,  201,  258,  261,  262 
Tent-boys,  34,  73,  74,  88-9 
Theodore,  King,  3,  4,  5,  6 
Thunderstorms,  89 
Tigre,  7,  9,  239,  329 
Tobacco,  208-9 

Trade,   178-80,   207,   238,  317 
{See  Markets^  c^v.) 


Travelling,  64-9,  72-6,  80,  83, 
84,  86-8, 93, 108-9, 1  ^  1, 125-7, 
132-5,  155-67,  168,  170,  209, 
213-5,  291-312,327-30,  333-5 

Trees,  109,  128,  129,  135 

Tsana,  Lake,  328 

Tukuls,  95,  96,  128,  135,  169, 
170-5,  184,  215,  223,  251-2 

Twilight,  74 

UcHALi,  Treaty  of,  8,  9 
Umbrellas,  137,  189,  216,  270 

Victoria,  Queen,  124-5,  ^45, 

209 
Vultures,  93 

Warabot,  70,  76,  306 
Watchmen,  115 

Water,  11,  14,  22,  7^  77,  ^55, 

161,  164,  228-9,  267 
Waterfowl,  128 
Wells,  228-9 

Whiskey,  23,  41,  42,  225,  259, 
334  {ajtd  probably  elsewhere^ 

Women,  40,  95,  96,  97,  102-6, 
112,  118,  144,  190,  194,  214, 
216,  220,  224,  227-33 

Young  Abyssinia  Party,  205, 
236-7 

Zaila,  20,  21,  33,  55,  37,  42-8, 
56,  64,  73,  85,  177,  220,  249, 
306,  307,  315,  333 

Zebras,  145-6 

Ziquala,  328 


LXWIX  BKOTHERS,  THE  GRESHAM  PRESS,  WOKING  AND  LONDON'. 


I 


Date  Due 


1  7  'S 

1 

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PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

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PrmcKon  Theological 


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